as in to idealize
to represent or think of as better than reality would warrant
he romanticized what life in a small town would be like, only to be later disappointed when reality intruded
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Recent Examples of romanticize
Wilson’s mugshot exploded across social media, sparking a wave of online fixation as many women openly romanticized his looks.
—
Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 15 Feb. 2026
Much of this isn't included in Fennell's version, and early on, many complained the movie seemed to romanticize the abuse in the book.
—Pamela Avila, USA Today, 15 Feb. 2026
After the cowboys’ home had yellowed to memory, illustrators such as Frederic Remington set about romanticizing the Westerner, a process vigorously seized upon by the chieftains of Hollywood.
—Miles Beller, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Dufu was careful not to romanticize this shift.
—Alli Kushner, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for romanticize
Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 15 Feb. 2026
Much of this isn't included in Fennell's version, and early on, many complained the movie seemed to romanticize the abuse in the book.
—Pamela Avila, USA Today, 15 Feb. 2026
After the cowboys’ home had yellowed to memory, illustrators such as Frederic Remington set about romanticizing the Westerner, a process vigorously seized upon by the chieftains of Hollywood.
—Miles Beller, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Dufu was careful not to romanticize this shift.
—Alli Kushner, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for romanticize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for romanticize
Verb
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Many love songs idealize; here, John Prine and Iris DeMent sweetly rattle off a list of each other’s endearing imperfections.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
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The characters are mostly idealized, the action is predictable, and its core conflicts derivative of those in the minds of most American teenagers in the middle of the 20th century.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The song was seen as glamorizing Nazi ideology, antisemitism and Hitler.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Jan. 2026
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Often, fires are depicted in an overly dramatic or glamorized way, but each home represents a person’s life.—
TIME Photo Department,
Time,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Romanticize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/romanticize. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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