I. ro ‧ mance 1 /rəʊˈmæns, ˈrəʊmæns $ roʊˈmæns, ˈroʊ-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ romance , ↑ romantic , ↑ romanticism ; verb : ↑ romance , ↑ romanticize ; adjective : ↑ romantic ≠ UNROMANTIC , romanticized; adverb : ↑ romantically ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: romans 'French, something written in French' , from Latin romanicus 'Roman' ]
1 . [countable] an exciting and often short relationship between two people who love each other ⇨ affair
romance with
Hemingway’s romance with his nurse inspired him to write ‘A Farewell to Arms’.
Michelle married him after a whirlwind romance (=one that happens very suddenly and quickly) .
holiday romance British English summer romance American English (=one that happens during a holiday)
a short holiday romance
2 . [uncountable] love, or a feeling of being in love:
The romance had gone out of their relationship.
3 . [uncountable] the feeling of excitement and adventure that is related to a particular place, activity etc
romance of
the romance of Hollywood
4 . [countable] a story about the love between two people:
romance novels
5 . [countable] a story that has brave characters and exciting events:
a Medieval romance
II. romance 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ romance , ↑ romantic , ↑ romanticism ; verb : ↑ romance , ↑ romanticize ; adjective : ↑ romantic ≠ UNROMANTIC , romanticized; adverb : ↑ romantically ]
1 . [intransitive] to describe things that have happened in a way that makes them seem more important, interesting etc than they really were
romance about
an old man romancing about the past
2 . [transitive] old-fashioned to try to persuade someone to love you