as in sentimental
appealing to the emotions in an obvious and tiresome way
a mawkish plea for donations to the charity
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Recent Examples of mawkish
These kinds of pictures are intended to provoke—to catch the eye with their mawkish absurdity and uncanny-valley optics.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
The flashbacks are dreamy without becoming mawkish, and Gemma’s scenes in Lumon are nightmarish without feeling untethered or otherwordly.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 28 Feb. 2025
Roz rescues wildlife in a Noah’s Ark analogue, then goes from being a disingenuous Christ figure offering sacrifice and promise (but no resurrection) to a mawkish maternal figure.
—Armond White, National Review, 26 Feb. 2025
Beyond all the legal and even medical specifics resides a sense of communal understanding, and — at the risk of sounding mawkish — a deep and abiding love for one’s fellow human beings, which Feder taps into with aplomb.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
The flashbacks are dreamy without becoming mawkish, and Gemma’s scenes in Lumon are nightmarish without feeling untethered or otherwordly.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 28 Feb. 2025
Roz rescues wildlife in a Noah’s Ark analogue, then goes from being a disingenuous Christ figure offering sacrifice and promise (but no resurrection) to a mawkish maternal figure.
—Armond White, National Review, 26 Feb. 2025
Beyond all the legal and even medical specifics resides a sense of communal understanding, and — at the risk of sounding mawkish — a deep and abiding love for one’s fellow human beings, which Feder taps into with aplomb.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mawkish
Adjective
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Paula also shared another angle of the cast singalong to her 1997 single, a particularly sentimental moment for the handful of fans who got to take in the one-night-only charity event.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
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Art that truly centres girlhood, meanwhile, had too often been dismissed as sentimental or lacking intellectual rigor.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The sloppy play extended beyond the penalties.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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The sweater’s hip-skimming length and relaxed cut result in a fit that feels effortlessly lived-in (not sloppy), while its wear-with-anything design is easy to style.—
Averi Baudler,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Its sheer pink hue and non-sticky texture check all my boxes.—
Sarah Hoffmann,
Allure,
3 Oct. 2025
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That commitment was further emphasized by the addition of Reed, who replaced another sticky corner in Carlton Davis III.—
Colton Pouncy,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkish. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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