mawkish

mawk·ish

adj \ˈmȯ-kish\

Definition of MAWKISH

1

: having an insipid often unpleasant taste

2

: sickly or puerilely sentimental

— mawk·ish·ly adverb

— mawk·ish·ness noun

Examples of MAWKISH

1. <a mawkish plea for donations to the charity>

Origin of MAWKISH

Middle English mawke maggot, probably from Old Norse mathkr — more at maggot

First Known Use: circa 1697

Related to MAWKISH

Synonyms: chocolate-box, cloying, drippy, fruity, gooey, lovey-dovey, maudlin, corny, 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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Rhymes with MAWKISH

gawkish, hawkish