as in sentimental
appealing to the emotions in an obvious and tiresome way
a mawkish plea for donations to the charity
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Nov. 2025
Then things just unravel into a half-hour of thoroughly phony mawkishness.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Adjective
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
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mawkish
Adjective
-
Musk appeared sentimental upon the announcement that Tesla would wind down production of the vehicles.—
Andrea Guzmán,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Crushow Herring, the art director of the Sidewalk Project, said Raines was both sentimental and protective of the homeless community.—
Rebecca Boone,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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As expected, there was precisely zero sentimentality from Quick, who was the Conn Smythe winner during the Kings’ first Stanley Cup title run in 2012 and their starting goalie for their second in 2014 as well.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
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John, who plays Mickey’s father in the film, described watching Zelda and Toby inhabit such fraught roles without sentimentality.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As the most populous and sprawling county in the state, Fulton has often been tagged by Republicans as the bad egg among elections offices for its past record of long lines, late returns and sloppy bookkeeping.—
Patricia Murphy,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Officials say the scammers' schemes range from the savvy to the sloppy -- and all are brazen.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Academy historically goes for sentimentalism.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
From a nervous system perspective, this makes the pattern especially sticky.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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The formula melts into the skin in seconds and doesn’t feel sticky or heavy.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkish. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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