Jump to content

romantic

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Romantic and romàntic

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From romant +‎ -ic, or borrowed from Late Latin romanticus (“(of a poem) having qualities of a romance”). Compare French romantique, which is borrowed from English. Also compare Spanish romántico, Portuguese romântico, Italian romantico, Dutch romantisch, and German romantisch and Romantiker (“a composer of Romantic music”), all of which are borrowed from English or French.[1]

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɹəʊˈmæntɪk/, /ɹə-/
  • (General American) enPR: rō-mănʹ(t)ĭk, IPA(key): /ɹoʊˈmæn(t)ɪk/, [ɹoʊˈmæntɪk], [ɹə-], [-mæɾ̃ɪk], [-meə̯ntɪk], [-meə̯ɾ̃ɪk]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æntɪk
  • Hyphenation: ro‧man‧tic

Adjective

[edit]

romantic (comparative more romantic, superlative most romantic)

  1. (chiefly historical) Of a work of literature, a writer etc.: being like or having the characteristics of a romance, or poetic tale of a mythic or quasi-historical time; fantastic. [from 17th c.]
  2. (obsolete) Fictitious, imaginary. [17th–20th c.]
  3. Fantastic, unrealistic (of an idea etc.); fanciful, sentimental, impractical (of a person). [from 17th c.]
    Mary sighed, knowing her ideals were far too romantic to work in reality.
  4. Having the qualities of romance (in the sense of something appealing deeply to the imagination); invoking on a powerfully sentimental idea of life; evocative, atmospheric. [from 17th c.]
    • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 1, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
      But here is an artist. He desires to paint you the dreamiest, shadiest, quietest, most enchanting bit of romantic landscape in all the valley of the Saco.
    • 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:
      Somehow she wasn't a real sister, but that only made her the more romantic.
    • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
      Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
  5. Pertaining to an idealised form of love (originally, as might be felt by the heroes of a romance); conducive to romance; loving, affectionate. [from 18th c.]
    Antonyms: platonic, nonsexual
    Their kiss started casually, but it slowly turned romantic.
  6. Alternative form of Romantic [from 18th c.]
  7. Experiencing romantic attraction. [from 21st c.]
    Synonyms: allo (informal), alloromantic
    Antonym: aromantic
    • 2010, Kristin S. Scherrer, “Asexual Relationships: What Does Asexuality Have to Do with Polyamory?”, in Meg Barker, Darren Langdridge, editors, Understanding Non-Monogamies, New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 154:
      Elsewhere, I describe that, in addition to an asexual identity, another salient identity for asexual individuals may be a romantic or aromantic identity, which designates an interest (or lack thereof) in monogamous, intimate relationships (Scherrer, 2008).
    • 2014, Karli June Cerankowski, Megan Milks, “Introduction: Why Asexuality? Why Now?”, in Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives (Routledge Research in Gender and Society), New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 2:
      What is relatively “new” is the formation of communities around the common language of asexuality as it is understood today—communities in which new categories exist around the concept of asexuality or “being ace,” where people can discuss romantic or aromantic orientations in relation to or apart from sexual desires or non-desires.
    • 2019, Julie Xuemei Hu, Shondrah Tarrezz Nash, “Sexuality and Sexual Relationships throughout Life”, in Marriage and the Family: Mirror of a Diverse Global Society, Routledge, →ISBN:
      Grayromantic asexual people are between romantic and aromantic and less likely to experience romantic attraction compared to most people.

Antonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

romantic (plural romantics)

  1. A person with romantic character (a character like those of the knights in a mythic romance).
  2. A person who is behaving romantically (in a manner befitting someone who feels an idealized form of love).
    Oh, flowers! You're such a romantic.
    • 1985 December 14, Maida Tilchen, Gay Community News, volume 13, number 22, page 8:
      Kaldor is an interesting lyricist, and it is easy to identify with her imagery. She's also an unabashed romantic of the most extreme kind, with lines like "For we can talk without speaking/we can see without light/I'll never leave you...."

Derived terms

[edit]

Descendants

[edit]
  • → French: romantique
  • → Italian: romantico

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "romantic, adj. and n.", OED Online, revised Nov. 2010 for Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed.. Oxford University Press.

Further reading

[edit]
  • "romantic" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 274.

Romanian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from French romantique.

Adjective

[edit]

romantic m or n (feminine singular romantică, masculine plural romantici, feminine and neuter plural romantice)

  1. romantic

Declension

[edit]
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite romantic romantică romantici romantice
definite romanticul romantica romanticii romanticele
genitive-
dative 		indefinite romantic romantice romantici romantice
definite romanticului romanticei romanticilor romanticelor
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=romantic&oldid=82526232"