sentimentalism

noun

sen·​ti·​men·​tal·​ism ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tə-ˌli-zəm 

1

: the disposition to favor or indulge in sentimentality

2

: an excessively sentimental conception or statement

sentimentalist

ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tə-list 

noun

Synonyms

• bathos
• gooeyness
• lovey-doveyness
• mawkishness
• mush
• mushiness
• saccharinity
• sappiness
• sentimentality
• sloppiness
• soppiness
• syrup
• sirup

Examples of sentimentalism in a Sentence

the sentimentalism of 19th-century art

the novel's sentimentalism bored me

Recent Examples on the Web

The moment when Sean soothes Laszlo’s fears of losing his best human buddy by telling him that the fear of dying just makes every living moment more special — something else a centuries-old vampire wouldn’t understand — tiptoes right up to the edge of sentimentalism. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sentimentalism

noun

sen·​ti·​men·​tal·​ism ˌsent-ə-ˈment-ᵊl-ˌiz-əm 

1

: a tendency to be sentimental

2

: an overly sentimental idea or statement

sentimentalist

-ᵊl-əst 

noun