maudlin
Americanadjective
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tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental.
a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
-
foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Explanation
You can use maudlin to describe something that brings tears to your eyes, or makes you feel very emotional. Tearjerkers like "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic" can be described as maudlin. Maudlin was a form of the name Mary Magdalene, a character from the Bible represented in paintings as a weeping sinner asking forgiveness from Jesus. Maudlin is often paired with sentimental, or even schlocky, to describe cry-fests, as in "I can't watch another second of that overly-sentimental, maudlin soap opera. Turn that schlock off."
Vocabulary lists containing maudlin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among Mr. Flaherty’s characters were Guy Caballero, the sleazy president of the station, and Sammy Maudlin, an unctuous late-night talk show host.
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2024
Among his notable original characters were Caballero; Sammy Maudlin, the overly effusive, overemotional host of a variety talk show; and most memorably, Count Floyd, the howling, cackling, frustrated vampiric host of “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2024
A year later, Holly drafted in guitarist Nikki Sullivan and bassist Joe B Maudlin, christening his new band The Crickets.
From BBC • Aug. 23, 2022
In his book, Maudlin presents several attempts to make sense of quantum mechanics, including the pilot-wave and many-worlds models.
From Scientific American • Mar. 9, 2021
Once Lafe had told her no one, no, not even Maudlin Bates, could keep her own from her!
From Rose O'Paradise by White, Grace Miller
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.
