sentimental

adjective

sen·​ti·​men·​tal ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tᵊl How to pronounce sentimental (audio)
1
a
: marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
a sentimental attachment
a sentimental favorite
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally adverb

Examples of sentimental in a Sentence

He has a sentimental attachment to his old high school. She saved her wedding gown for sentimental reasons. He has sentimental ideas about the past. I tend to get very sentimental when I think about my childhood.
Recent Examples on the Web In a more sentimental tribute, Schumer commemorated the couple's fifth wedding anniversary in February by posting a blurry photo of her kissing Fischer at the time. Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2023 Read the full Scorpio Daily Horoscope Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Feeling a bit… sentimental? USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2023 The clip has since racked up almost a million views online, with fans in the comments pointing out the irony of the actor singing a Del Rey song after his character in Red, White & Royal Blue, Prince Henry, is teased by love interest Alex about being too sentimental. Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2023 Of course, all of these songs are timeless, sentimental and especially sweet too. Maggie Horton, Country Living, 30 Aug. 2023 Others urgently want to check whether their fire safes, metal sculptures, coin collections or sentimental jewelry survived and have not been stolen. Karin Brulliard and Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023 Made of porcelain, both are four inches tall and dishwasher safe for a gift that's equal parts sentimental and practical. Cailey Lindberg, Good Housekeeping, 21 Aug. 2023 The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, 59, posted a sentimental throwback picture from her wedding day in honor of the anniversary to her actor husband, 56. Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 29 Aug. 2023 His sensational play during the series, however, became a sentimental bonus. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sentimental.' 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

1741, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sentimental was in 1741

Dictionary Entries Near sentimental

Cite this Entry

“Sentimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentimental. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

sentimental

adjective
sen·​ti·​men·​tal ˌsent-ə-ˈment-ᵊl How to pronounce sentimental (audio)
1
a
: marked by feeling or sentiment
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally
-ᵊl-ē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on sentimental

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