as in sentimentality
the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion) the novel's sentimentalism bored me

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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 sentimentalism 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 King’s honeyed voiceover begins the film with a kind of sentimentalism about childhood and its innocence. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 4 July 2024 The next few songs strand us on a mountaintop of sentimentalism, while subtly rebuking race and genre lines. Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024 In its commitment to a particular kind of sentimentalism, No Hard Feelings doesn’t fully lean into the raunchiness some might expect from its trailer or early buzz. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for sentimentalism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentimentalism
sentimentality
Noun
  • The video production is lush, the sentimentality laid on thick — this is a movie that’s far more interested in playing familiar notes about how cinema is magical and storytelling is vital for the already converted than taking a critical look at its subjects.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Richard’s account would probably differ and have more to do with Lorenz’s alcoholism, depression, erratic work habits, and aversion to sentimentality.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sentimentalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentimentalism. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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