Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

sentimentality

play
noun sen·ti·men·tal·i·ty \ ˌsen-tə-ˌmen-ˈta-lə-tē , -mən- \

Definition of sentimentality

plural sentimentalities
1 :the quality or state of being sentimental especially to excess or in affectation
2 :a sentimental idea or its expression

See sentimentality defined for English-language learners

See sentimentality defined for kids

People Are Reading

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!
alt-59bab5dbb4997
Trending: 'Bodega' Startup Draws Criticism, Mockery
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Examples of sentimentality in a Sentence

  1. the sentimentality of Romantic poetry

  2. the sentimentality of the story of star-crossed lovers only made it even more popular with moviegoers

Recent Examples of sentimentality from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sentimentality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of sentimentality

1770

sentimentality Synonyms

Synonyms
bathos, gooeyness, lovey-doveyness, mawkishness, mush, mushiness, saccharinity, sappiness, sentimentalism, sloppiness, soppiness, syrup (also sirup)
Related Words
emotion; sentiment; corn, corniness, hokeyness (or hokiness), schmaltz (also schmalz)
Near Antonyms
cynicism, hardheadedness, hard-heartedness

SENTIMENTALITY Defined for English Language Learners

sentimentality

play
noun

Definition of sentimentality for English Language Learners

  • : the quality of being sentimental especially in an excessive way

Learn More about sentimentality

  1. See words that rhyme with sentimentality Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sentimentality Spanish Central: Translation of sentimentality Nglish: Translation of sentimentality for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up sentimentality? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

glabrous

play

smooth or hairless

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  2. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

  3. allegory No spoilers!

  4. hurricane 'A tropical cyclone'

  5. rescind To take away; cancel; repeal

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

sentimentality

Test Your Vocabulary

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

  • stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
  • Which is a synonym of fuliginous?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Its origins are surprisingly murky.

alt-59c13729150dc
"Immune to" or "Immune from"?

Nobody is immune to this question.

alt-59bff395cf879
What's Going On With 'Nonplussed'?

Its recent usage is hard to shrug off.

alt-59bad350d88f1
Welcome to the New Words

From 'hive mind' to 'sriracha'

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
name-that-color-logo
Name that Color!

NEW! Additional colors! More obscure than before!

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game
Examples: sentimentality in a Sentence