ro·mance
rō-ˈman(t)s 
rə-;
ˈrō-ˌman(t)s
1
a(1)
: a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural
(2)
: a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious
(3)
: a love story especially in the form of a novel
b
: a class of such literature
2
: something (such as an extravagant story or account) that lacks basis in fact
3
: an emotional attraction or aura belonging to an especially heroic era, adventure, or activity
4
5
capitalized
: the Romance languages
romanced; romancing
1
: to exaggerate or invent detail or incident
2
: to entertain romantic thoughts or ideas
1
: to try to influence or curry favor with especially by lavishing personal attention, gifts, or flattery
2
: to carry on a love affair with
: a short instrumental piece in ballad style
Ro·mance
rō-ˈman(t)s
rə-;
ˈrō-ˌman(t)s
: of, relating to, or being any of the languages developed from Latin (such as Italian, French, and Spanish)
Examples of romance in a Sentence
Noun (1)
an office romance that ended with hurt feelings on both sides
Verb
He was always romancing younger women.
She was romanced by several wealthy young men.
The museum's director spends a lot of time romancing potential donors.
a college athlete who's being romanced by several pro teams
They were romancing about the past.
Recent Examples on the Web
Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Oct. 2025
Of teenage dances, young romances, basketball tournaments – all turned to ash.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
Murders ensue, romances blossom, and the body count gets higher as the night goes on.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for romance
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show current usage.
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Noun
Honer spoke with The Tennessean about his latest project, an autobiographical record that meditates on romance, roots and life on the road.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Oct. 2025
Of teenage dances, young romances, basketball tournaments – all turned to ash.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
This is the place that Manchester calls home for the next six months, leaving occasionally to sell video games for cash, go to church, and romance a local single mother named Leigh Wainscott.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
Murders ensue, romances blossom, and the body count gets higher as the night goes on.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for romance
Cite this Entry
“Romance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romance. Accessed 11 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
romance
1 of 3 noun
ro·mance
rō-ˈman(t)s
ˈrō-ˌman(t)s
1
a
: an old tale of knights and noble ladies
b
: an adventure story
c
: a love story
2
3
: an attraction or appeal to one's feelings
the romance of the old West
romance
2 of 3 verb
romanced; romancing
1
: to have romantic thoughts or ideas
2
: to carry on a love affair with
Romance
3 of 3 adjective
Ro·mance
rō-ˈman(t)s
ˈrō-ˌman(t)s
: of, relating to, or being the languages (as French, Italian, or Spanish) developed from Latin
Etymology
Noun
Middle English romauns "a story of adventure or legend," from early French romanz "French language, something written in French," from Latin romanice "in a vernacular (as opposed to Latin)," from Latin Romanus "Gallic Romance speaker (as opposed to a Frank)," from Romanus "Roman"
Word Origin
As the Roman Empire spread throughout Europe, the Latin language developed many dialects. In these dialects, the original Latin was changed by the native languages spoken before the conquest. These dialects were called romanz in early French and became the bases of what we call Romance languages today. Even after the fall of Rome, serious writing was done in Latin. But in what is now France, popular verse stories about knights, dragons, ghosts, and battles were written in the local dialect. Soon romanz came to mean one of these stories, and the word was borrowed into Middle English. Since many of the stories were about love affairs, romance came to mean "a love story," and then "a love affair." In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a group of poets, including Shelley, Byron, Keats, and Wordsworth, were labeled Romantic because they wrote poetry about the same kinds of things as were found in the old romances—noble love, courage, and ghostly beings.
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