romance

UK: 'Romance': /rəˈmæns/; 'romance': /ˈrəʊmæns/, /rəʊˈmæns/, /rəˈmæns/

US: /n., adj. roʊˈmæns, ˈroʊmæns; v. roʊˈmæns/

US: 'Romance': (rō mans′, rō′mans); 'romance': (n., adj. rō mans′, rō′mans; v. rō mans′)

Inflections of 'romance' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

romances

v 3rd person singular

romancing

v pres p

romanced

v past

romanced

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ro•mance¹ /n., adj. roʊˈmæns, ˈroʊmæns; v. roʊˈmæns/   n., v., -manced, -manc•ing, adj. 
n. 

1. Literature [countable] a piece of writing telling of heroic or marvelous deeds, great ceremonies, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting.
2. [countable] a made-up story, full of exaggeration.
3. a romantic spirit, feeling, or quality:
   [uncountable] no romance in their marriage anymore.
4. [countable] a love affair.

v. [~ + object]

5. Informal Terms to try to have an affair with:
   She thinks he is romancing their neighbor's wife.

adj. 

6. Language Varieties [Romance] of or relating to the group of languages descended from the Latin of the Roman Empire, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian.

ro•manc•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ro•mance¹  (n., adj. rō mans′, rō′mans;v. rō mans′), n., v., -manced, -manc•ing, adj. 
n. 

1. Literature a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting.
2. the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales.
3. Literature a medieval narrative, originally one in verse and in some Romance dialect, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory.
4. a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention.
5. a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire.
6. romantic character or quality.
7. a romantic affair or experience;
   a love affair.
8. Language Varieties (cap.) Also, Romanic. Also called Romance languages. the group of Italic Indo-European languages descended sincea.d.800 from Latin, as French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian, Provençal, Catalan, Rhaeto-Romanic, Sardinian, and Ladino. Abbr.: Rom.

v.i. 

9. to invent or relate romances;
   indulge in fanciful or extravagant stories or daydreams.
10. to think or talk romantically.

v.t. 

11. Informal Terms
    • to court or woo romantically;
      treat with ardor or chivalrousness:
      He's currently romancing a very attractive widow.
    • to court the favor of or make overtures to;
      play up to:
      They need to romance the local business community if they expect to do business here.

adj. 

12. Language Varieties (cap.) Also, Romanic. of, pertaining to, or noting Romance:
    a Romance language.

• Vulgar Latin *Rōmānicē (adverb, adverbial) in a Romance language, derivative of Latin Rōmānicus Romanic
• Old French, derivative of romanz, romans (adjective, adjectival) Romanic
• Middle English romaunce Romanic language, composition in such a language 1250–1300

ro•manc′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. story, fiction.
• 4. falsehood, fable.
• 6. allure, fascination, exoticism.

ro•mance²  (rō mans′), n. 

1. Music and Dance a short, simple melody, vocal or instrumental, of tender character.
2. Literature [Sp. Lit.] a short epic poem, esp. a historical ballad.

• Old French romanz romance¹
• Spanish: kind of poem, ballad
• French
• 1595–1605

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

romance noun / rəˈmæns ˈrəʊmæns/

1. a love affair, esp an intense and happy but short-lived affair
2. love, esp romantic love idealized for its purity or beauty
3. a spirit of or inclination for adventure, excitement, or mystery
4. a mysterious, exciting, sentimental, or nostalgic quality, esp one associated with a place
5. a narrative in verse or prose, written in a vernacular language in the Middle Ages, dealing with strange and exciting adventures of chivalrous heroes
6. any similar narrative work dealing with events and characters remote from ordinary life
7. a story, novel, film, etc, dealing with love, usually in an idealized or sentimental way
8. an extravagant, absurd, or fantastic account or explanation
9. a lyrical song or short instrumental composition having a simple melody

verb / rəˈmæns/

1. (intransitive) to tell, invent, or write extravagant or romantic fictions
2. (intransitive) to tell extravagant or improbable lies
3. (intransitive) to have romantic thoughts
4. (intransitive) (of a couple) to indulge in romantic behaviour
5. (transitive) to be romantically involved with

Etymology: 13th Century: romauns, from Old French romans, ultimately from Latin Rōmānicus Roman

roˈmancer noun

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Romance / rəˈmæns ˈrəʊmæns/ adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to the languages derived from Latin, including Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian
2. denoting a word borrowed from a Romance language

noun

1. this group of languages; the living languages that belong to the Italic branch of the Indo-European family