anti-romantic

adjective

an·​ti-ro·​man·​tic
ˌan-tē-rō-ˈman-tik,
-rə-,
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-romantic (audio)
variants or less commonly antiromantic
: contradicting or rejecting romantic aesthetics or sensibilities
… this book of anti-romantic, practical advice about common life problems …Publishers Weekly
Critics often identify the novel of manners with a Jamesian, antiromantic perspective, but one should remember that Jane Austen also wrote novels of manners, and there courtship always produces a "happily ever after."David R. Shumway
anti-romanticism noun
or less commonly antiromanticism
ˌan-tē-rō-ˈman-tə-ˌsi-zəm,
-rə-,
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-romantic (audio)
If anything defines the art of Weimar Germany it is an attitude of deliberate anti-romanticism, shared of course by the Bauhaus School; a hatred of sentimentality and pretense. Ian Buruma

Examples of anti-romantic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In another artist’s hands, the song’s somewhat cynical, anti-romantic lyrics might be easily taken at face value, but in Hozier’s, they are definitely meant to be coming from an untrustworthy narrator, or at least one who could stand to clean up his act rather than reject sweetness. Chris Willman, Variety, 3 May 2024 Apart from Gladiator, his best historical movies are The Duellists and The Last Duel, both character studies in which an anti-romantic perspective makes dramatic sense. Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anti-romantic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anti-romantic was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near anti-romantic

Cite this Entry

“Anti-romantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-romantic. Accessed 18 May. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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