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 However, they’re given an earnest, if sometimes overly sentimental, airing here thanks to Ueda’s personal connection to the material. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2026 There were no sentimental musings, beyond Tyler’s aforementioned 55-and-a-half remarks. — Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026 That includes receipts, birth certificates and sentimental stuff, like a Valentine's Day card from your mom. — Andee Tagle, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026 But this location near Blue Ridge Cutoff is especially sentimental to Cosentino, a second-generation owner. — Kansas City Star, 28 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
  • There’s the tight-skin feeling that sent them looking for a moisturizer, and there’s the prospect of wearing a cream on a day when their face already feels sticky outdoors.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Vinegar, red pepper flakes, and a good dose of butter transform it into a sticky sauce that seeps into the nooks of each and every sprout.
    — Molly Baz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of sticky
Adjective
  • With it, blustery and sloppy conditions are expected from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and into coastal parts of the Northeast later in the week.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2026
  • In one of the ugliest, sloppiest games of the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys somehow squeaked out a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to move to 4-5 on the season.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 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
  • There are too many sappy life lessons in a film that should just be silly, simple fun.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
  • 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
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
  • From Orlando’s theme parks to homegrown holiday events like Dazzling Nights, there are many festive celebrations for enjoying holiday lights, treats and entertainment that inspires warm and fuzzy feelings.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2026
  • She was recently spotted out and about in a chartreuse velvet Colleen Allen house coat, worn with fuzzy slippers.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Nov. 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 14 Nov. 2026.

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