sentimental

adjective

ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tᵊl How to pronounce sentimental (audio)
Definition of sentimentalnext
as in sticky
appealing to the emotions in an obvious and tiresome way a sentimental story about unrequited love

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sentimental But this location near Blue Ridge Cutoff is especially sentimental to Cosentino, a second-generation owner. — Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2026 Amid all the festivities, the rapper also offered a sentimental toast. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, the audience will wonder if the sentimental pummeling will ever end. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 Bundled up in a coat, black gloves and toting an umbrella, Queen Camilla’s latest sentimental jewelry piece held dual meaning. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sentimental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentimental
  1. sticky
  2. sloppy
  3. mawkish
  4. schmaltzy
  5. maudlin
  6. sappy
  7. saccharine
  8. fuzzy
Adjective
  • Her worldwide museum experience had taught her the foibles of museums and academia, but her sense of humor and common sense settled some sticky situations while moving (the museum) as a center for socially transformative debates.
    — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Since Rock Candy came out in February, Mackeeper have continued to churn out sticky songs, and had one of them appear in The Drama.
    — Samuel Hyland, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of sticky
Adjective
  • Charlotte won the rebound battle 51 to 44, but left the Pistons open way too often and were sloppy with the ball, committing 25 turnovers.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The Lakers were sloppy with the basketball, turning it over 22 times.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of sloppy
Adjective
  • Elordi’s performance is a fine one, but any emotional current from the screen to the audience is made choppy by mawkish blasts to the past, Hig at the edge of his bed, head in hands.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The sounds are chintzy and soaked in reverb, like a mawkish ’80s ballad rewritten from memory, and the whole thing slowly falls apart and fades out like an old track by the Field.
    — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 24 June 2026
Definition of mawkish
Adjective
  • The schmaltzy rhetoric around nearly all of the works evidences a great desire for purpose, meaning, even dogma, but such things do not tend to emerge from entertainment or leisure practices so much as from constraint and necessity.
    — Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Albini doesn’t dress up those songs with any schmaltzy production or studio tricks.
    — David Harris, SPIN, 11 June 2026
Definition of schmaltzy
Adjective
  • Except that’s precisely what awards shows are terrible at — those hammy yuk-yuk sketches, or weepy maudlin moments, that struggle to celebrate the industry by interlacing the show with a theatrical insert.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2026
  • That’s when the movie takes a direction that’s both maudlin in the true sense of the word and ultimately even sanctimonious regarding the heroine’s sudden redemption.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
Definition of maudlin
Adjective
  • The bicentennial was the moment of nostalgic gluttony that topped them all, with its reenactment of battles, its old-fashioned sailing ships, and its outpouring of sappy patriotic products printed with the magic numerals 76.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • The announcement may come as a shock for country fans who have followed the couple through their sappy podcast appearances and gushy acceptance speeches.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026
Definition of sappy
Adjective
  • But that’s preferable to the movie’s swerve into saccharine grief therapy, as Jay starts communing with Mitt once the dead dad and the whale become a single soul.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Congenitally optimistic without being saccharine, Paul Baker was, in Season 2, the nexus of a love triangle in which his character felt torn between his girlfriend, Rao’s Issa, and his husband, Thiele’s Anton.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of saccharine
Adjective
  • The mascot was a fuzzy yellow monster with a tough guy attitude, topped with a sun-like head.
    — Luisa Yanez, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Shop my favorite fall shoes from Uggs, and more similar fuzzy slip-on loafers, below.
    — Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of fuzzy

Browse Nearby Words

sentiment
sentimental
sentimentalism
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Cite this Entry

“Sentimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentimental. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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