romance

1 of 4

noun (1)

ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s How to pronounce romance (audio)
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

romance

2 of 4

verb

romanced; romancing

intransitive verb

1
: to exaggerate or invent detail or incident
2
: to entertain romantic thoughts or ideas

transitive verb

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

romance

3 of 4

noun (2)

: a short instrumental piece in ballad style

Romance

4 of 4

adjective

Ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s How to pronounce Romance (audio)
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

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
Noun
After meeting on the set of the upcoming movie adaptation of Wicked, the costars developed a romance offscreen. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023 Christos Nikou’s sci-fi romance gets a limited theatrical release Oct. 27 before hitting the streaming platform Nov. 3. Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Sep. 2023 Taylor Swift showing up for Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday shocked and thrilled the world, but some people may also be confused how this budding romance began. Doha Madani, NBC News, 25 Sep. 2023 Swift was spotted cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, further fueling rumors of a potential romance between the singer and Chiefs tight end. Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2023 But the romance of projection deserves acknowledgment, too. Vulture, 23 Sep. 2023 One episode breaks down how the pair has leveraged their influx of followers after their whirlwind romances and transitioned to careers in content creation. Rachel Ventresca, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2023 So, yes, your son is right on time for romance and connection. Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023 In January 2023, PEOPLE confirmed that the journalists would be departing from their roles at ABC following an investigation into their romance. Clare Fisher, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2023
Verb
Reports about the new house in LA come as Brady is rumored to be romancing Irina Shayk, a Russian model whose former boyfriends include soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and actor Bradley Cooper. Mark Shanahan, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023 And he’s not just grown up with the beloved Caribbean genre — which has romanced listeners well beyond the Spanish-speaking world — but, using elements of pop, alternative rock and EDM, the award-winning mix master has indelibly shaped it into an intrepid pop sound. Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023 No, Ariana Grande isn’t romancing that cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants who lives in a pineapple under the sea. Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 21 July 2023 Jünger spent his off hours visiting museums, browsing bookstalls, and romancing a Jewish pediatrician named Sophie Ravoux. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023 Like many of Anderson’s protagonists, Gustave is a reprobate of the first order, romancing old ladies for their fortunes and such. Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023 Dream Daddy, which was released in 2017 and starred a single father looking to romance other solo dads, featured in a Markiplier video with 6.8 million views, a sign that LGBTQ+ friendly romance games were starting to push into the mainstream. Mark Hill, Wired, 4 Mar. 2021 But the bombshells have been coming fast and furious since the backdoor pilot — focused on a Housewife’s ex-husband romancing a Sur waitress — and produced, in its early seasons, an almost Shakespearean amount of backstabbing. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023 There aren’t a lot of couples who can publicly romance each other on Instagram without inducing an eye roll, but Paulson and Taylor are the exception. Emma Specter, Vogue, 10 May 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'romance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English romauns, from Anglo-French romanz French, narrative in French, from Medieval Latin Romanice in a vernacular (as opposed to Latin), from Late Latin Romanus Gallo-Romance speaker (as opposed to a Frank), from Latin, Roman

Noun (2)

German Romanze & French romance, both ultimately from Spanish romance romance, ballad, from Old Occitan & Old French romanz

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1653, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1854, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of romance was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near romance

Cite this Entry

“Romance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romance. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

romance

1 of 3 noun
ro·​mance rō-ˈman(t)s How to pronounce romance (audio)
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 How to pronounce Romance (audio)
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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