romanticize

verb

ro·​man·​ti·​cize rō-ˈman-tə-ˌsīz 

rə-

romanticized; romanticizing

transitive verb

: to make romantic : treat as idealized or heroic

romanticize the past

intransitive verb

1

: to hold romantic ideas

2

: to present details, incidents, or people in a romantic way

The book romanticized military life.

romanticization

rō-ˌman-tə-sə-ˈzā-shən 

rə-

noun

Synonyms of romanticize

• idealize
• glamorize

Examples of romanticize in a Sentence

He has romanticized notions of army life.

a romanticized view of politics

We were romanticizing about the past.

Recent Examples on the Web

The cyclospora outbreak isn’t the first time an illness has been romanticized as a way to achieve rapid weight loss. — Oona Hanson, CNN Money, 25 July 2026

The 29-year-old Christian Faith Madison died after walking into traffic, with her family arguing that the OpenAI chatbot had fueled her religious delusions during their extensive interactions, pushing her over the edge by romanticizing death. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 July 2026

Hollywood has long romanticized the era, and there’s a reason these references continue to resonate. — Lauren Valenti, InStyle, 17 July 2026

Have fun romanticizing the routine — this is your superpower right now. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for romanticize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

romanticize

verb

ro·​man·​ti·​cize rō-ˈmant-ə-ˌsīz 

romanticized; romanticizing

1

: to make romantic : show in a romantic way

2

: to have romantic ideas

romanticization

-ˌmant-ə-sə-ˈzā-shən 

noun