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sentimental
[ sen-tuh-men-tl ]
adjective
- expressive of or appealing to sentiment, especially the tender emotions and feelings, as love, pity, or nostalgia:
a sentimental song.
Synonyms: bathetic, maudlin, nostalgic, tender, romantic
Antonyms: dispassionate
- pertaining to or dependent on sentiment:
We kept the old photograph for purely sentimental reasons.
- weakly emotional; mawkishly susceptible or tender:
the sentimental Victorians.
- characterized by or showing sentiment or refined feeling.
Antonyms: dispassionate
sentimental
/ ˌsɛntɪˈmɛntəl /
adjective
- tending to indulge the emotions excessively
- making a direct appeal to the emotions, esp to romantic feelings
- relating to or characterized by sentiment
Derived Forms
- ˌsentiˈmentally, adverb
Other Words From
- senti·mental·ly adverb
- anti·senti·mental adjective
- anti·senti·mental·ly adverb
- hyper·senti·mental adjective
- hyper·senti·mental·ly adverb
- inter·senti·mental adjective
- over·senti·mental adjective
- over·senti·mental·ly adverb
- quasi-senti·mental adjective
- quasi-senti·mental·ly adverb
- semi·senti·mental adjective
- semi·senti·mental·ly adverb
- super·senti·mental adjective
- super·senti·mental·ly adverb
- unsen·ti·mental adjective
- unsen·ti·mental·ly adverb
Word History and Origins
Origin of sentimental1
Example Sentences
“I think because I’m always dealing with ambiguous emotions, I’ve always been afraid of music tipping the balance in one direction or being too histrionic or too sentimental.”
I’m buying this, and it’s very sentimental to me now.
It’s perfectly fine — consistently amusing, sometimes funny, basically sweet, a little sentimental in the finish.
She visited the site of the house on Thursday afternoon for the first time with a shovel in her hand, sifting through the smoldering ashes looking for anything of sentimental interest.
The next day, the shellshocked parents struggled to come to grips with the financial toll of the incident and the catastrophic sentimental loss.
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Related Words
More About Sentimental
What does sentimental mean?
Sentimental means expressing, appealing to, or being moved by sensitive or tender emotions, such as love, nostalgia, or pity.
The state or quality of being sentimental is sentimentality. Sentimental, sentimentality, and other related words (like sentimentalism, which can be used as a synonym of sentimentality) are based on the sense of the word sentiment that refers to sensitive or tender emotions, sensitivity to such emotions, or appeal to such emotions.
Such terms are especially used to imply that these emotions are exaggerated or overindulged. Sometimes, they imply that these emotions get in the way of thinking logically or being realistic.
People are sometimes criticized for being overly sentimental, as in Stop being so sentimental and looking at things through rose-colored glasses, instead of seeing what they’re really like.
These kinds of criticisms are especially common in the context of art. For example, a book or film may be criticized as being overly sentimental in dealing with a historical event. This implies that it portrays the event in an idealized, simplistic, or nostalgic way instead of depicting it accurately and dealing with what really happened.
Such works might also be described as melodramatic. When they’re tearfully or weakly emotional, they might be described as maudlin, mawkish, sappy, or weepy. Hallmark holiday movies are known for being sentimental.
Things that are kept due to being associated with fond memories or loved ones are said to have sentimental value.
Example: He’s so sentimental that he keeps all of his childhood toys.
Where does sentimental come from?
The first records of the word sentimental come from the mid-1700s. The word sentiment is first recorded in the 1300s and comes from the Latin verb sentī(re), meaning “to feel.” The suffix -al is used to form adjectives.
Books and movies that are sentimental are intended to make you feel all the feels—to have an emotional impact, especially one that makes you cry. Sometimes, though, this kind of sentimentality comes at the expense of a realistic story or believable characters. This kind of emotional effect is sometimes described as cheaply sentimental.
Still, sentimental isn’t always used negatively. When a person is sentimental, it often means they are sensitive to their own emotions and to those of others. That focus on feelings like tenderness might mean they express love very openly.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to sentimental?
- sentimentality (noun)
- sentiment (noun)
What are some synonyms for sentimental?
What are some words that share a root or word element with sentimental?
What are some words that often get used in discussing sentimental?
How is sentimental used in real life?
Sentimental is often used to describe people and works of art. It’s often used in a critical way to imply that they are unrealistic, but this is not always the case.
I can’t trust movie reviews that call things overly sentimental like it’s a bad thing. Like sorry this was too sweet!!!!! …..Not a problem w me, that is my brand
— kathryn b (@kathwynbaldrin) November 12, 2020
I'm feeling sentimental and nostalgic. I've watched supernatural since 2005. When I was in 5th grade. 15 years. It's crazy that it's finally coming to an end now.
— ✩☽⁷ (@eris_248) November 20, 2020
I have too many notebooks that I consider too pretty, or hold significant sentimental value, to use.
— Enjy AB 🏳 (@NG_Ashour) November 19, 2020
Try using sentimental!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of sentimental?
A. realistic
B. maudlin
C. cloying
D. sappy
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