as in sentimentalism
the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion) the sentimentality of the story of star-crossed lovers only made it even more popular with moviegoers

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sentimentality Call it a love letter as well, penned with undying admiration and possibly a soupçon of nostalgia but not an ounce of sentimentality, for a New Yawk that may as well be the Victorian era. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2025 The connection between Nafisi and Bahri is presented with complexity and without sentimentality, neither papering over political differences nor caricaturing Bahri as a generic revolutionary. Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2025 One Blues fan who got one before they were gone Thursday was Steven Weinmann, whose grandmother taught sign language in the St. Louis area years ago, which created some sentimentality for him. Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025 The glories of tradition were burdened with sentimentality and nationalism, and McGahern instead proclaimed an affinity for Samuel Beckett, who had emigrated and wrote in French. Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for sentimentality 

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Cite this Entry

“Sentimentality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sentimentality. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

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