tearjerker

[ teer-jur-ker ]
See synonyms for: tearjerkertearjerking on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a story, play, movie, or the like that is sentimental or sad enough to evoke pangs of emotion to the point of tears: This new version of a classic tearjerker is touted as the must-see film of the holiday season, but it lacks the genuine warmth of the original.

Origin of tearjerker

1
First recorded in 1930–35; tear1 + jerk1 + -er1

Other words from tearjerker

  • tear·jerk·ing, adjective

Words Nearby tearjerker

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tearjerker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tear-jerker

tear-jerker

/ (ˈtɪəˌdʒɜːkə) /


noun
  1. informal an excessively sentimental film, play, book, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012