maudlin

maud·lin

adj \ˈmȯd-lən\

Definition of MAUDLIN

1

: drunk enough to be emotionally silly

2

: weakly and effusively sentimental

Examples of MAUDLIN

1. He became maudlin and started crying like a child.
2. <a maudlin movie about a lovable tramp>

Origin of MAUDLIN

alteration of Mary Magdalene; from her depiction as a weeping penitent

First Known Use: 1509

Related to MAUDLIN

Synonyms: chocolate-box, cloying, drippy, fruity, gooey, lovey-dovey, corny, mawkish, mushy, novelettish, saccharine, sappy, schmaltzy, sentimental, sloppy, slushy, soppy, soupy, spoony (or spooney), sticky, sugarcoated, sugary, wet

Antonyms: unsentimental

Related Words: dreamy, misty-eyed, moonstruck, moony, nostalgic, starry-eyed; feel-good, fuzzy; melodramatic, soap-operatic, soapy, sudsy; flat, insipid, soft-boiled, tasteless, vapid, watery; cutesy, twee [chiefly British]

Near Antonyms: unadulterated, unvarnished; antisentimental, cynical, hard-boiled, hard-edged, hardheaded

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