as in sickening
overly or insincerely flattering
a gushy review of a novel by an author who just happened to be a friend of the critic
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gushy
There’s no better time to embrace the mushy gushy than in the first few moments after winning gold medals together.
—
Meg Linehan, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
To that end, yes, honeymoon phases are gushy (and self-absorbed).
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
Anything to keep those gushy feelings on repeat in your body!
—Carina Hsieh, SELF, 30 Jan. 2024
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for gushy
Meg Linehan, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
To that end, yes, honeymoon phases are gushy (and self-absorbed).
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
Anything to keep those gushy feelings on repeat in your body!
—Carina Hsieh, SELF, 30 Jan. 2024
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for gushy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gushy
Adjective
-
The concept of this many women vying for West is somewhat sickening to me.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
27 May 2026
-
So united and powerful were these Indigenous people that some of their enemies started to get desperate, that whiff of anxiety taking on a sickening stench.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
These are soapy, sudsy materials that form a film over fire and starve it of oxygen.—
Carrie McDonough,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
-
Wash your hands with hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds and do it often.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Mok added that other foods may offer similar health benefits, especially for sleep, including walnuts, tart cherry juice, oily fish like salmon, and some herbal teas, although more research is needed.—
Stephanie Brown,
Verywell Health,
2 June 2026
-
Their texture is oily and slightly crunchy, though still somewhat chewy.—
Kirsten Nunez,
Martha Stewart,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
While these celebrity docs are hagiographic and formulaic, the interviews with Nadal and family and rivals like Federer and Novak Djokovic do push beyond the surface.—
Stuart Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
But all the myth and sorrow around the dynasty mean many takes tilt hagiographic.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
These are wines that pair beautifully with rich dishes, oily, unctuous fish with tomato, and pasta sauces that are rich and fatty.—
Valentina Di Donato,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
Here are details on the sweet, tiny bites of unctuous decadence, and the fluffy, bogus cones best left in the freezer.—
Jolene Thym,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Besides being a record of events, the work is a crafty portrayal of kingship, presenting Akbar in an adulatory tone, as an exemplary and divinely favored ruler.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Reggie’s solution is to hire Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), an Oscar-winning documentarian, to make an adulatory film about him, changing public perception and opening new doors.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
His trademark cool was sidelined by a more demonstrative style, closer to the theatrical sensibilities of 2Pac than the muted menace that once defined him.—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
3 June 2026
-
Our bond has never been loud or demonstrative.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
His widow doesn’t exactly look too broken up; less than a week after his death, Lee spots her snuggling with Dale’s brother Donald, an oleaginous candidate for governor played by Kyle MacLachlan.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
-
One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.—
David Owen,
The New Yorker,
27 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Gushy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gushy. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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