sentimentality

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

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Examples of sentimentality in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of sentimentality from the Web

Loyalty looks like sentimentality when there’s little reason to think that a stretch of inspired play in May and June could put a team over the top.

— nathaniel friedman, GQ, "As Kyrie Irving Enters His Prime, What Exactly Is Boston Getting?," 23 Aug. 2017
Current events and sentimentality help explain the obsession, says Jane Buckingham, founder of trend forecasting company Trendera.

— erin jensen, USA TODAY, "We've officially reached peak unicorn trend. But is it here to stay?," 22 Aug. 2017
At some point in our lives, practicality wins out over romance, sentimentality, whatever.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Paul Daugherty: Ditch the NCAA hypocrisy and let kids major in football," 10 Aug. 2017
Sentimentality and emotion have no place in this business.

— jeff seidel, Detroit Free Press, "Was this Justin Verlander's last game for Detroit Tigers?," 30 July 2017
This slide into sentimentality, even if grotesque, coincides with a profound shift in Western attitudes toward death.

— nancy west, The Atlantic, "Pictures of Death," 19 July 2017
While the sentimentality of tributing Walker has surely helped boost the video's success, Knobloch is sure to state repeatedly that element came from an entirely earnest place and was not exploited as part of a greater marketing effort.

— colin stutz, Billboard, "How Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth's 'See You Again' Dethroned 'Gangnam Style' as YouTube's Top Video," 13 July 2017
Drivers won’t go easy on Junior Earnhardt is unquestionably the crowd favorite to win Saturday’s race but don’t expect the other 39 drivers to get caught up in the sentimentality.

— david whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Earnhardt wins pole for his final Daytona race," 30 June 2017
Drivers won’t go easy on Junior Earnhardt is unquestionably the crowd favorite to win Saturday’s race but don’t expect the other 39 drivers to get caught up in the sentimentality.

— david whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Earnhardt wins pole for his final Daytona race," 30 June 2017

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

noun

Definition of sentimentality for English Language Learners

: the quality of being sentimental especially in an excessive way

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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

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Definition of sentimentality

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sentimentality

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