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
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
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
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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Locals are sentimental about the happy, drunken teen graduates, who are thanked by strangers for their future contributions to Denmark.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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The conceit is inherently crowdpleasing — a man stumbling into strangers’ lives and finding unexpected connection — but Hikari steers it with earnestness, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Rotwood approvingly sees no such sentimentality in Wednesday.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
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There's a time to think like a minimalist, and a time to let sentimentality win.—
Tessa Cooper,
Southern Living,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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According to Amazon reviews, the material is soft with just the right amount of stretch, while the fit is roomy without looking sloppy.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Sep. 2025
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In that high‑tempo, but sloppy matchup, the Wildcats fell 46‑24, with Mari Adams, a top running back, contributing heavily on the ground and showing flashes of explosive play.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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While leaders of the nature-study movement warned against sentimentalism and make-believe, young readers were delighted by such tales.—
Jessica George,
JSTOR Daily,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The tariffs also look to have driven up sticky inflation, with Trump pressuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates, in great part to get the housing market moving again.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Soap/Shampoo Residue While soap and shampoo don't create dust themselves, their residue creates the perfect sticky place for dust particles to attach to.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkish. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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