romanticize

American

[roh-man-tuh-sahyz] / roʊˈmæn təˌsaɪz /

especially British, romanticise

verb (used with object)

romanticized, romanticizing

to make romantic; invest with a romantic character.

Many people romanticize the role of an editor.

verb (used without object)

romanticized, romanticizing

to hold romantic notions, ideas, etc.

romanticize British

/ rəʊˈmæntɪˌsaɪz /

verb

(intr) to think or act in a romantic way
(tr) to interpret according to romantic precepts
to make or become romantic, as in style

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

overromanticize verb
romanticization noun
unromanticized adjective

Etymology

Origin of romanticize

First recorded in 1810–20; romantic + -ize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It's fascinating that something hundreds of years old could so closely match what is around today and contrast so much with what people romanticize the past landscape to be."

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Despite the verve and love each “Rings of Dissent” contributors have in their essays, they don’t romanticize it.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 21, 2025

In an interview, he said: “It’s easy to romanticize the golden days.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

It’s the music, as opposed to our lingering desires to romanticize an unfinished past, that matters.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2025

It is important to keep in mind, though, that many rappers and hip-hop artists do not aim to glorify or romanticize gangsta life or culture.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023