noun / verb
romance
ROH-mans/ˈrəʊmæns/
An idealized experience of affectionate love.
The couple's tender kiss and joined hands express their romance.
Etymology
Romanz named vernacular tales, often about chivalric adventures and marvelous deeds. As romance came to mean a love story, it also became a name for a love affair itself.
In context
human love is so obscured by the inflations and the commotions of romance that we almost never look for love in its own right
More examples
- Their summer romance begins with a chance meeting at the beach.
- He romances his wife with flowers and candlelit dinners.
- She loves the romance of traveling by train.
Forms
romance · romances · romanced · romancing
romantic adjective — Expressing love in an emotionally idealized way.
romantically adverb — In a way expressing idealized love.
Similar words
- love
- Broader affection that need not involve courtship or idealization.
- courtship
- Emphasizes pursuing a relationship rather than its idealized emotional experience.