romance
ro·mance / rōˈmans; ˈrōˌmans/ • n. 1. a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love: in search of romance. ∎ love, esp. when sentimental or idealized: he asked her for a date and romance blossomed. ∎ an exciting, enjoyable love affair, esp. one that is not serious or long-lasting: a summer romance. ∎ a book or movie dealing with love in a sentimental or idealized way: light historical romances. ∎ a genre of fiction dealing with love in such a way: wartime passion from the master of romance. 2. a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement, and remoteness from everyday life: the beauty and romance of the night. ∎ wild exaggeration; picturesque falsehood: she slammed the claims as “pure romance, complete fiction.” ∎ a work of fiction dealing with events remote from real life. 3. a medieval tale dealing with a hero of chivalry, of the kind common in the Romance languages: the Arthurian romances. ∎ the literary genre of such works. 4. Mus. a short informal piece.• v. [tr.] 1. court; woo: the wealthy estate owner romanced her. ∎ inf. seek the attention or patronage of (someone), esp. by use of flattery: he is being romanced by the big boys in New York. ∎ [intr.] engage in a love affair: we start romancing. 2. another term for romanticize: to a certain degree I am romancing the past.
