maudlin
American
[mawd-lin]
/ ˈmɔd lɪn /
adjective
-
tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental.
a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
-
foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.
maudlin
British
/ ˈmɔːdlɪn /
adjective
Other Word Forms
- maudlinism noun
- maudlinly adverb
- maudlinness noun
- unmaudlin adjective
- unmaudlinly adverb
Etymology
Origin of maudlin
1500–10; special use of Maudlin, Middle English Maudelen ≪ Late Latin Magdalēnē < Greek Magdalēnḗ Mary Magdalene, portrayed in art as a weeping penitent
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.