1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

romance 1 of 2

noun

rō-ˈman(t)s How to pronounce romance (audio)
Definition of romancenext
as in affair
a brief romantic relationship an office romance that ended with hurt feelings on both sides

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

romance

2 of 2

verb

as in to woo

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of romance
Noun
The Pisces Moon trines Venus in your playful 5th house, making creativity, learning, romance, and pleasure easier to access. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 24 Sep. 2026 The story follows the journey of two people during various stages of their relationships and involves romance, dancing, humor, obstacles and heartbreak, a news releasesaid. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Verb
In 1973, Boyd had an affair with Ronnie Wood, while Harrison did the same with Wood’s wife, and Harrison also later romanced Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen Cox. — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2025 Anthony Geary, the thoughtful General Hospital actor who as the complex Luke Spencer raped and romanced Genie Francis’ Laura Webber Baldwin on the way to an unprecedented eight Daytime Emmy Awards and soap opera superstardom, has died. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 15 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for romance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for romance
  1. affair
  2. woo
  3. fling
  4. spark
  5. date
Noun
  • The vote will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In the space of a few paragraphs, Ned will abandon and recover his child, bungle an extramarital affair, win and lose, experience ecstasy and dejection.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of affair
Verb
  • That means Democratic contenders have a lot more lawmakers to woo.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • To woo the American artist best known for his curvaceous and colorful Balloon Dog sculptures, Hublot invited him to its Nyon, Switzerland, home base.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of woo
Noun
  • The second, 2015’s Catastrophe, is a two-hander performed by co-creators Horgan and Rob Delaney, in which their characters (also named Sharon and Rob) grapple with a surprise pregnancy after a brief fling.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Maybe a friendship starts feeling like something more, or a fling complicates your routine in the best way.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of fling
Verb
  • Meta Platforms' launch of its Muse AI agent app and Nebius's move to raise rental rates on AI computing access seemed to spark the buying spurt in related AI stocks.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The partnership has sparked outrage and calls for boycotts from some fans, who view the deal as conflicting with the team's past progressive actions.
    — Ricardo Torres, jsonline.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of spark
Verb
  • Greiner dates the form to the 19th century fiction of George Eliot, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens—the literature that shaped Lee.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The dispute dates to March, when the government of then-President Rodrigo Chaves Robles closed Costa Rica’s embassy in Havana and gave Cuban diplomats until the end of the month to leave.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of date

Browse Nearby Words

roly-poly
romance
romanced
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Romance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/romance. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on romance

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about romance

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All