romanticize
UK[rəʊˈmæntɪsaɪz]US[roʊˈmæntɪsaɪz]
v
to talk about something in a way that makes it seem better than it really is, or to believe that something is better than it really is.
v
to make something seem romantic or full of romance.
Morpheme Breakdown
romantic
ize
romantic
pertaining to romance
ize
verb-forming suffix
Etymology
the word 'romanticize' is a modern english formation that layers a productive verb suffix onto an established adjective. its core, 'romantic', traces back to the medieval latin 'romanicus', meaning 'roman', which evolved through old french 'romanz' to denote the vernacular languages and the popular chivalric tales composed in them. these tales, filled with adventure and idealized love, gave 'romance' and later 'romantic' their associations with the imaginative, the emotional, and the picturesque, moving far from the original geographical meaning. the suffix '-ize', of ancient greek origin, systematically converts nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning 'to render or make so'. therefore, 'romanticize' literally means 'to make romantic', capturing the act of imbuing a subject with an idealized, often exaggerated, emotional or adventurous quality, whether in description or perception.
Analysis
Structure: romantic (pertaining to romance) + ize (verb-forming suffix)
- romantic: from english 'romantic', ultimately from latin 'romanicus' (roman), via old french 'romanz' (vernacular romance literature). functions as the base adjective.
- ize: from greek '-izein' via latin '-izare' and old french '-iser'. a verb-forming suffix meaning 'to make, to become, or to practice'.
Examples
it's easy to romanticize the past and forget about the hardships people faced.
the film tends to romanticize life in the countryside, ignoring the challenges of rural poverty.
he has a tendency to romanticize every brief encounter into a grand love story.