# romance

> English word · Noun · IPA /rə(ʊ)ˈman(t)s/ · frequency rank #4,188

## Definitions
1. An intimate relationship between two people; a love affair.
2. A strong obsession or attachment for something or someone.
3. Idealized love which is pure or beautiful.
4. A story, novel, film, etc., centred around an idealized love relationship.
5. A story relating to chivalry; a story involving knights, heroes, adventures, quests, etc.
6. A tale of high adventure.
7. A mysterious, exciting, or fascinating quality.
8. A literary or filmic genre about idealized love.
9. An embellished account of something; an idealized lie.
10. An adventure, or series of extraordinary events, resembling those narrated in romances.
11. A dreamy, imaginative habit of mind; a disposition to ignore what is real.
12. A sentimental piece of music; a romanza.

## Etymology
From Middle English romauns, roumance, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French romanz, romans (the vernacular language of France, as opposed to Latin), from Medieval Latin rōmānicē, Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in the Roman language”, adverb), from Latin rōmānicus (“roman”, adjective) from rōmānus (“a Roman”). Doublet of Romansch.

## Easily confused with
- **Romans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/romance-vs-romans)
- **romano** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/romance-vs-romano)
- **Romani** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/romance-vs-romani)
- **Romania** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/romance-vs-romania)
- **roman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/roman-vs-romance)
- **rance** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rance-vs-romance)
- **romaine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/romaine-vs-romance)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ormance`, `rmoance`, `roamnce`, `romacne`, `romancce`, `romanec`, `romannce`, `romence`, `rommance`, `romnace`, `rromance`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/romance