Romance  —n. 1 idealized, poetic, or unworldly atmosphere or tendency. 2 a love affair. B mutual attraction in this. C sentimental or idealized love. 3 a literary genre concerning romantic love, stirring action, etc. B work of this genre. 4 medieval, esp. Verse, tale of chivalry, common in the romance languages. 5 a exaggeration, lies. B instance of this. 6 (romance) (often attrib.) Languages descended from latin. 7 mus. Short informal piece. —v. (-cing) 1 exaggerate, distort the truth, fantasize. 2 court, woo. [romanic: related to *romanic]