as in sentimentality
the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion)
the grating mawkishness of her poetry makes me want to stamp on wildflowers
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for mawkishness
Noun
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More likely, though, Brown said Jefferson’s stockpiling of gloves reflects his sentimentality toward his wife and possibly other women in the family.
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And what ensues is an hour and a half of aimless, frictionless, inert, and cloying sentimentality without purpose.
Noun
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The Academy historically goes for sentimentalism.
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While leaders of the nature-study movement warned against sentimentalism and make-believe, young readers were delighted by such tales.
Cite this Entry
“Mawkishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkishness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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