as in sentimentality
the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion)
the grating mawkishness of her poetry makes me want to stamp on wildflowers
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Recent Examples of mawkishness
These films explore those bonds without ever resorting to bromides or mawkishness.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Then things just unravel into a half-hour of thoroughly phony mawkishness.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Then things just unravel into a half-hour of thoroughly phony mawkishness.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mawkishness
Noun
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There’s nonetheless a critical tweak built into the scene involving the uses of childhood sentimentality, and here, again, Spielberg suggests a self-awareness of the dangers of his practice, and the essential importance of having a virtuous idea system at the heart of such a drama.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
16 June 2026
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal wasn't seeking any sentimentality for his return from elbow surgery.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
Noun
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The Academy historically goes for sentimentalism.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
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McBride is less interested in exploring another motivation for saving locks of hair: the particular sentimentalism that made people cherish the hair of loved ones, especially those who had died, or of honored forebears.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mawkishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkishness. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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