romantic

American  

[roh-man-tik] / roʊˈmæn tɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of romance; characteristic or suggestive of the world of romance.

   a romantic adventure.

2. not practical; unrealistic; fanciful.

   romantic ideas.

   Synonyms:

   fantastic, imaginative, wild, exaggerated, extravagant

   Antonyms:

   realistic, pragmatic, practical

3. imbued with or dominated by idealism, a desire for adventure, chivalry, etc.

4. characterized by a preoccupation with love or by the idealizing of love or one's beloved.

5. displaying or expressing love or strong affection.

6. ardent; passionate; fervent.

7. Usually Romantic of, relating to, or characteristic of a style of literature and art that subordinates form to content, encourages freedom of treatment, emphasizes imagination, emotion, and introspection, and often celebrates nature, the ordinary person, and freedom of the spirit (contrasted with classical).

8. of or relating to a musical style characteristic chiefly of the 19th century and marked by the free expression of imagination and emotion, virtuosic display, experimentation with form, and the adventurous development of orchestral and piano music and opera.

9. imaginary, fictitious, or fabulous.

   Synonyms:

   unreal, improbable

   Antonyms:

   probable

10. noting, of, or pertaining to the role of a suitor or lover in a play about love.

    the romantic lead.

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noun

• romantics
  plural

1. a romantic person.

2. a romanticist.

3. romantics, romantic ideas, ways, etc.

romantic British  

/ rəʊˈmæntɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, imbued with, or characterized by romance

2. evoking or given to thoughts and feelings of love, esp idealized or sentimental love

   a romantic woman

   a romantic setting

3. impractical, visionary, or idealistic

   a romantic scheme

4. euphemistic imaginary or fictitious

   a romantic account of one's war service

5. (often capital) of or relating to a movement in European art, music, and literature in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, characterized by an emphasis on feeling and content rather than order and form, on the sublime, supernatural, and exotic, and the free expression of the passions and individuality

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noun

1. a person who is romantic, as in being idealistic, amorous, or soulful

2. a person whose tastes in art, literature, etc, lie mainly in romanticism; romanticist

3. (often capital) a poet, composer, etc, of the romantic period or whose main inspiration or interest is romanticism

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• romanticalness
  noun
• antiromantic
  adjective
• half-romantic
  adjective
• hyperromantic
  adjective
• nonromantic
  adjective
• post-Romantic
  adjective
• preromantic
  adjective
• proromantic
  adjective
• pseudoromantic
  adjective
• quasi-romantic
  adjective
• semiromantic
  adjective
• superromantic
  adjective
• ultraromantic
  adjective
• unromantic
  adjective
• half-romantically
  adverb
• hyperromantically
  adverb
• nonromantically
  adverb
• pseudoromantically
  adverb
• quasi-romantically
  adverb
• romantically
  adverb
• semiromantically
  adverb
• superromantically
  adverb
• unromantically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• romantics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of romantic

First recorded in 1650–60; from French romantique, derivative of romant romaunt; see -ic

Explanation

If something is romantic, it isn't very practical, like the librarian's romantic dream of convincing every person in town to read a book a week for life — a great idea that probably isn't possible. To be romantic about something can mean that you overlook its flaws and shortcomings. If your romantic ideal is growing all of your own food on a secluded farm, you are probably ignoring the tremendous amount of hard work it will require. Or, if you are romantic about love, you believe the perfect person is out there and in finding one another, all the problems and difficulties of life will melt away.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

romantic romantics

"I sang live with them and I think they really appreciated that, because it's a very romantic way of doing it," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

So I had all these giddy, kind of rose-tinted romantic notions of what I was doing until I was knee-deep in fiberglass, going, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Millicent, the more practical of the pair, wrote “Widow,” a romantic story of forbidden love.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

That led her to co-found the Coalition Against Stalkerware, an international working group tackling the problem of software tools frequently used to spy on unknowing romantic partners.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

He was twenty-nine years old, and though there’d been a few brief liaisons, at no time had he experienced a meaningful romantic relationship.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

He developed a surprising reputation as an interpreter of Rachmaninoff and other romantics disliked by modernists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Both sets also showcase Kirk as a master balladeer and one of jazz’s great romantics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026

With the country in the grips of new wave and the new romantics, Turner was steered away from raw, fiery soul that first made her famous.

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2025

And for the pop romantics among us, the Beach Boys can still cast a spell with those four little words: Wouldn’t it be nice?

From New York Times ● May 24, 2024

“The great romantics are often failed classicists. But that’s beside the point, isn’t it? What do you think of Hampden? Are you happy here?”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• adventurous
• amorous
• charming
• colorful
• corny
• dreamy
• erotic
• exciting
• exotic
• fanciful
• fantastic
• fascinating
• glamorous
• maudlin
• mysterious
• nostalgic
• passionate
• tender
• utopian
• whimsical