Definition of "romanticism" [ro•man•ti•cism]

• An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions. (noun)
• Romantic quality or spirit in thought, expression, or action. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I will attempt to translate this one but need a little more time to sift all the romanticism from the sweetness of its flavor."
• "Levinson, our alienation from romanticism is an index of our modernity and hence our critical agency."
• "In other words, romanticism is a key example of the process that is usually described as secularization, with emphasis on the term's irreducible ambiguity: is it more of a break with religion or more a continuation of it?"