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
Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
After a mawkish beginning, the play somewhat redeems itself through earned emotions and an ambiguous ending that begs discussion.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 June 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
Knight’s directorial debut never tips over into mawkish but has some unashamedly tender moments.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
After a mawkish beginning, the play somewhat redeems itself through earned emotions and an ambiguous ending that begs discussion.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 June 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
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But Kore-eda is more interested in a smiley-happy outcome of mutual accord, which is pushed into sentimental overdrive by increasingly cloying slatherings of Bandoh’s score.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
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But there’s another side of Lennon that was almost the sentimental counter- reaction to his own cynicism.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
15 May 2026
Noun
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The sentimentality for Jalisco’s is perhaps due in part to José’s philosophy on customer service.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
7 May 2026
-
Bryant says old postcards, handwritten recipes, or pages from vintage books or magazines are all great options for bringing a little sentimentality into a space.—
Nicole Letts,
Southern Living,
2 May 2026
Adjective
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These Amazon finds are made for petite travelers who want to stay comfortable without defaulting to sloppy sweats.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
14 May 2026
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Spurs seemed to run out of energy and their passing became sloppy.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
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The Academy historically goes for sentimentalism.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
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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
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Using a flexible bench scraper or hard plastic spatula, fold dough over and onto itself several times, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to bring together into a mass (dough will feel very wet and sticky).—
Claire Saffitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 May 2026
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Dusting your hands with flour can also help with the sticky dough.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkish. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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