pre-romantic
Prior to dating
Pre-romantic describes the period or sensibility preceding the Romantic movement in art, literature, and music—roughly the mid-to-late 18th century.
Writers like Gray and Young showed pre-romantic tendencies: emotional intensity, interest in nature, melancholy.
The term also describes the early stages of a relationship before it becomes officially romantic: We're still in the pre-romantic phase—just texting.
Era prioritizing reason over dogma
- neoclassicalReviving ancient aesthetic principles
- 18th-centuryThe seventeen hundreds
- AugustanOf Rome's founding emperor
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
classical · pre-modern · Rousseau · sensibility · sublime · picturesque · sentimentalism · primitivism
Seeking another's romantic favor
- flirtationPlayful romantic attention
- attractionPull toward something
- friendshipBond of mutual affection
- acquaintancePerson slightly known
platonic · unrequited · infatuation · longing · anticipation · tension · chemistry · spark
Connecting two phases
- precursorSomething that comes first
- forerunnerOne that comes before
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- influencePower to affect others
movement · aesthetic · philosophy · imagination · emotion · individualism · Blake · Burns
Enlightenment
Era prioritizing reason over dogma
- neoclassicalReviving ancient aesthetic principles
- 18th-centuryThe seventeen hundreds
- AugustanOf Rome's founding emperor
rationalism · classical · pre-modern · Rousseau · sensibility · sublime · picturesque · sentimentalism · primitivism · Burke
courtship
Seeking another's romantic favor
- flirtationPlayful romantic attention
- attractionPull toward something
- friendshipBond of mutual affection
acquaintance · platonic · unrequited · infatuation · longing · anticipation · tension · chemistry · spark · interest
transitional
Connecting two phases
- precursorSomething that comes first
- forerunnerOne that comes before
- antecedentSomething that precedes
influence · movement · aesthetic · philosophy · imagination · emotion · individualism · Blake · Burns · Collins
pre-romanticcommitted
Firmly pledged or bound
coupled · in a relationship · partnered · married · engaged
pre-romanticromantic
Conducive to love
in love · lovers · amorous · passionate · ex-partners
romantic, romance, romancer, romances, romanced, romancing, romanticism, romanticist, romanticize