sentimentality

the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion) the sentimentality of the story of star-crossed lovers only made it even more popular with moviegoers Synonyms bathos, gooeyness, lovey-doveyness, mawkishness, mush, mushiness, saccharinity, sappiness, sentimentalism, sloppiness, soppiness, syrup (also sirup) Related Words emotion; sentiment; corn, corniness, hokeyness (or hokiness), schmaltz (also schmalz) Near Antonyms cynicism, hardheadedness, hard-heartedness