sentimental
adjective
sen·ti·men·tal
ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tᵊl 
1
a
: marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
a sentimental attachment
a sentimental favorite
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally
adverb
Examples of sentimental in a Sentence
He has a sentimental attachment to his old high school.
She saved her wedding gown for sentimental reasons.
He has sentimental ideas about the past.
I tend to get very sentimental when I think about my childhood.
Recent Examples on the Web
None of the people close to them care about it because the majority of the people that are advising kids now are agents who are looking at it from a business perspective, or families that are not sentimental about any of this.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2026
None of the people close to them care about it because the majority of the people that are advising the kids now are agents who are looking at it from a business perspective, or families that are not sentimental about any of this.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
Multitracked saxophones swarm over a pit of molten bass frequencies, slipping between sentimental consonance—you might momentarily be reminded of Vangelis’ Blade Runner score—and eerie discord.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
The church said the statues' monetary value may be relatively small, but their historical and sentimental significance is much greater.
—Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
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.
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2026
None of the people close to them care about it because the majority of the people that are advising the kids now are agents who are looking at it from a business perspective, or families that are not sentimental about any of this.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
Multitracked saxophones swarm over a pit of molten bass frequencies, slipping between sentimental consonance—you might momentarily be reminded of Vangelis’ Blade Runner score—and eerie discord.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 25 Mar. 2026
The church said the statues' monetary value may be relatively small, but their historical and sentimental significance is much greater.
—Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
Cite this Entry
“Sentimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentimental. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sentimental
adjective
sen·ti·men·tal
ˌsent-ə-ˈment-ᵊl
1
a
: marked by feeling or sentiment
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally
adverb
-ᵊl-ē
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
