as in sloppy
appealing to the emotions in an obvious and tiresome way
a sentimental story about unrequited love
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sentimental
Very sentimental, and just a lot of happiness.
—
Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
For Abela, the club scene was both sentimental and nostalgic.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 23 Feb. 2026
The result is a sentimental arts-and-crafts project given cinematic form, in ways that occasionally blur the line between reality and artistic representation.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
Well, there’s the sentimental side of me that grew up watching Carson that liked that.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
For Abela, the club scene was both sentimental and nostalgic.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 23 Feb. 2026
The result is a sentimental arts-and-crafts project given cinematic form, in ways that occasionally blur the line between reality and artistic representation.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
Well, there’s the sentimental side of me that grew up watching Carson that liked that.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sentimental
Adjective
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Compared to the absolving gleam of latex, sloppy imperfection isn’t especially sexy.—
Lillian Fishman,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Against the Raptors, that translated into sloppy basketball.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
If, in the following days, increasing moisture and a sticky feel to the atmosphere are accompanied by fog or overcast skies, this can signal the approach of a cold front with a cooler air mass behind it.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Austin American Statesman,
24 Feb. 2026
-
In 2025, though, gold broke through several barriers, setting new records along the way as investors reacted to sticky inflation, uneven economic data and growing skepticism about how long restrictive monetary policy could stay in place.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The book’s final section, comprising a reunion at a funeral, could have been mawkish but instead is moving … A riveting tale.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
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Knight’s directorial debut never tips over into mawkish but has some unashamedly tender moments.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In the way that Harrison looks to the Bible for models of relationships and drama, Cappa’s Haha, You Clowns looks to schmaltzy sitcoms and after school specials.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
18 Dec. 2025
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Its almost schmaltzy final notes are a brilliant companion to Coppola’s unforgettable ending.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As the whole business dragged on, the atmosphere started to seem less like a game show and more like the late-night Jerry Lewis telethons of the 1970s, in which a tired but pumped Lewis alternately griped at the audience, broke into maudlin emotion, or jumped up to welcome a new guest.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
25 Feb. 2026
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He’s also invested his protagonist with a self-deprecating sense of humor that keeps his pessimism from veering into maudlin territory.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
The duet is unabashedly sappy, its lyrics full of period-perfect, flowery Medieval revivalism tropes.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
-
That’s sappy but sweet stuff, arriving at a time when so much of the human project seems bent toward cruelty and annihilation.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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While most vanilla scents wear sugary on my skin, Dave’s blend of tonka bean, cocoa shell, and neroli create an elevated, complex take on the typically saccharine profile.—
Sophie Wirt,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
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The monochromatic set elevates the scallop with a textured embroidery, keeping it from feeling too childlike or overly saccharine.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And now that the alerts system has gone live, users receive a tiny, fuzzy image with some astronomical metadata of each observation that fits their criteria—all just a couple of minutes after Rubin captures the original image.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
26 Feb. 2026
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One of her favorite specimens was the rain beetle, a fuzzy scarab-like insect that can't feed as an adult, relying solely on fat stores from its larval stages.—
Christine Mai-Duc,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sentimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentimental. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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