What does "romance" mean?
An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair.
Romance
/ɹoʊˈmæns/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair.
- Grammar: romance is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: love affair, romanticism, solicit, woo.
- Useful contrasts: agamemnon, antiromance, avoid.
- Usage evidence: His romance was the talk of the town.
How to use "romance"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "romance" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "romance" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "romance" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "romance" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "romance" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "love affair" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "romance", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair. countable, uncountable
"Everybody's working for the weekend Everybody wants a new romance."
- 2 The group of languages and cultures which are derived from Vulgar Latin. uncountable
"The Romance languages are normally grouped along broad geographical lines into Italo-Romance (Italian dialects, with a standard based on Tuscan); Gallo-Romance (French and Provençal); Hispano-Romance (Castilian Spanish, Catalan as less widely recognized standard, and Portuguese); Rhaeto-Romance (Romansh, Ladin, and Friulian); and Balkan Romance (Dalmatian, now extinct, and Romanian). [...] Proto-Romance was a purely spoken language, and we should at least in principle keep it separate from Vulgar Latin."
- 3 an exciting and mysterious quality (as of a heroic time or adventure) wordnet
- 4 A strong obsession or attachment for something or someone. countable, uncountable
- 5 a novel dealing with idealized events remote from everyday life wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 Idealized love which is pure or beautiful. countable, uncountable
- 7 a story dealing with love wordnet
- 8 A story, novel, film, etc., centred around an idealized love relationship. countable, uncountable
- 9 the group of languages derived from Latin wordnet
- 10 A story relating to chivalry; a story involving knights, heroes, adventures, quests, etc. countable, uncountable
"`Will you undertake the task? We give you complete freedom, and as a reward you will, we believe, have the credit of presenting to the world the most wonderful history, as distinguished from romance, that its records can show.'"
- 11 a relationship between two lovers wordnet
- 12 A tale of high adventure. countable, uncountable
"Could one have known the past histories of some of the oddly-selected couples who shared everything in common, many a romance might have been written during what, to all outward appearances, was a dull and prosaic time to most lookers-on!"
- 13 A mysterious, exciting, or fascinating quality. countable, uncountable
- 14 A literary or filmic genre about idealized love. countable, uncountable
- 15 An embellished account of something; an idealized lie. countable, uncountable
- 16 An adventure, or series of extraordinary events, resembling those narrated in romances. countable, uncountable
"His life was a romance."
- 17 A dreamy, imaginative habit of mind; a disposition to ignore what is real. countable, uncountable
"She was so full of romance she would forget what she was supposed to be doing."
- 18 A sentimental piece of music; a romanza. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To woo; to court. transitive
"A female Shepard can romance bisexual Yeoman Kelly Chambers, but doing so does not yield a Paramour achievement or an implied sex scene the way that romancing ‘official’ interests does. Similarly, the player can attempt to romance the Asari Samara or her Ardat-Yakshi daughter Morinth, but the former will refuse and sex with the latter will kill Shepard."
- 2 tell romantic or exaggerated lies wordnet
- 3 To write or tell romantic stories, poetry, letters, etc. intransitive
- 4 talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions wordnet
- 5 To talk extravagantly and imaginatively; to build castles in the air. intransitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 have a love affair with wordnet
- 7 make amorous advances towards wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Of or dealing with languages or cultures derived from Roman influence and Latin: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Romanian, Catalan, Occitan, etc.
"In this paper we will concentrate on the problem posed by Iberian Romance languages (i.e. Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish), …"
Adjective
- 1 relating to languages derived from Latin wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"His romance was the talk of the town."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "romance"?
Common synonyms include: love affair, romanticism, solicit, woo, address, adulterous affair.
How do you use "romance" in a sentence?
His romance was the talk of the town.
How do you pronounce "romance"?
Pronounced /ɹoʊˈmæns/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English romauns, roumance, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French romanz, romans (the vernacular language of France, as opposed to Latin), from Medieval Latin rōmānicē, Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in the Roman language”, adverb), from Latin rōmānicus (“roman”, adjective) from rōmānus (“a Roman”). Doublet of Romansch.
Etymology 2
From Old French romanz (“vernacular language (of France)”), from Late Latin rōmānicē, from Latin rōmānicus < rōmānus + -icus. Extended in the 17th century to all languages derived from Latin.