romantic

Pluralromantics

1. 1
   adjective

   Relating to love and attraction between people, or expressing or inspiring such feelings; (of a person) loving and affectionate.

   She tucked a romantic note inside the pocket of his coat.

   The couple chose a quiet, romantic restaurant for their anniversary.

   UsageCommon pairs: a romantic dinner, a romantic relationship. When describing relationships or feelings, romantic contrasts with platonic.

   Similaramorous, loving, affectionate, tender, intimate

   Oppositeunromantic, platonic

   Note

   Love as the heroes of a romance might feel it is where the meaning began; everyday use has made it simply the language of couples, as in romantic relationships, a romantic kiss, a romantic dinner. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The love-related sense originally referred to love such as the heroes of a romance might feel. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   atmosphericadjective

   Having qualities that appeal deeply to the imagination; evocative and atmospheric.

   Mist gave the ruined abbey a romantic, otherworldly air.

   Her photographs captured the romantic grandeur of the highlands.

   Similarevocative, atmospheric, picturesque, enchanting, dreamy

   Oppositeprosaic

   Note

   Scenery is its classic setting: Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851) offers the "most enchanting bit of romantic landscape in all the valley of the Saco." It stretches well beyond views, though. Henry James applies it to a girl in What Maisie Knew (1897), and The Economist in 2013 could write that "finance is seldom romantic," meaning unglamorous, not unloving. The test is whether the thing stirs the imagination. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick, first published in 1851. en.wikipedia.org
   • The text reads 'the dreamiest, shadiest, quietest, most enchanting bit of romantic landscape in all the valley of the Saco.' Remove the added 'the' immediately before 'most'. gutenberg.org
   • Henry James wrote What Maisie Knew, first published in 1897. en.wikipedia.org
   • The book's first-edition year is 1897. archive.org
   • James uses romantic to describe a girl in What Maisie Knew. gutenberg.org
   • The Economist published 'Finance is seldom romantic' in 2013. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   art movementadjective

   Alternative letter-case form of Romantic: relating to Romanticism, the late 18th- and 19th-century movement in art, music and literature.

   His paintings belong firmly to the romantic tradition of the nineteenth century.

   Scholars trace the romantic movement back to the late eighteenth century.

   UsageOften capitalized for the period: Romantic poetry. In lowercase, a word like movement or tradition makes the sense clear.

   Oppositeclassical

   Note

   Only a capital letter separates this spelling from the everyday adjective. In lowercase, the reader has to work out from context whether a painting is romantic in the period sense or simply evocative and atmospheric.

4. 4
   adjective

   Of an idea, far-fetched and unrealistic; of a person, given to fanciful, sentimental, and impractical views.

   Their romantic notion of farming ignored the harsh economics involved.

   He was far too romantic to ever keep to a budget.

   UsageStock phrases: romantic notions, romantic ideas, too romantic to + verb. Of a person it means impractical, not loving.

   Similaridealistic, unrealistic, impractical, fanciful, starry-eyed

   Oppositerealistic, practical, pragmatic

   Note

   The word turns skeptical here, and it settles into stock phrases: romantic notions, romantic ideals, too romantic to work. In Jeeves and Wooster (1993), Jeeves warns that an odd spelling of Gladys "gives them romantic notions." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The quoted episode of Jeeves and Wooster aired in 1993. en.wiktionary.org
   • Jeeves says that spelling Gladys with a W gives women “romantic notions.” en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A person with romantic tendencies, especially one who holds idealized, sentimental views of love or life, or who readily expresses affection.

   She married a hopeless romantic who plans a surprise every weekend.

   As a true romantic, he believed every small gesture of love mattered.

   UsageOften a hopeless romantic, such a romantic, a true romantic.

   Similaridealist, dreamer, sentimentalist

   Note

   Gay Community News in 1985 described a lyricist as "an unabashed romantic of the most extreme kind." The tone is often fond teasing, said over flowers or a sentimental gesture, and the label sticks to someone's habits rather than a single act. Older writing also used it for someone with the adventurous idealism of a knight in an old tale. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Gay Community News published the quoted description of a lyricist in 1985. en.wiktionary.org
   • The quoted wording is exact and describes the lyricist Kaldor. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   adjectivehistorical

   Of a literary work or writer: having the qualities of a romance, a poetic tale set in a mythic or quasi-historical age; fantastic.

   The novel adopts a romantic style, recounting the deeds of legendary knights.

   Critics called his early verse romantic, steeped in chivalry and myth.

   Similarchivalric, fantastic, legendary, mythic

   Oppositerealistic

   Note

   The literary sense the rest of the word grows from: romant plus -ic, or Late Latin romanticus, said of a poem with the qualities of a romance. Today it belongs chiefly to discussion of older writing, where it points to tales of myth, legend and knights rather than to love stories. French romantique, curiously, was borrowed from English rather than the other way round. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The word's origins concern literary romance, underlying its later senses. en.wiktionary.org
   • The proposed derivations are romant plus -ic or Late Latin romanticus, referring to a poem with the qualities of a romance. en.wiktionary.org
   • French romantique was borrowed from English. fr.wiktionary.org

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