emotionalism
Americannoun
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excessively emotional character.
the emotionalism of sentimental fiction.
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strong or excessive appeal to the emotions.
the emotionalism of patriotic propaganda.
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a tendency to display or respond with undue emotion, especially morbid emotion.
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unwarranted expression or display of emotion.
noun
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emotional nature, character, or quality
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a tendency to yield readily to the emotions
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an appeal to the emotions, esp an excessive appeal, as to an audience
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a doctrine stressing the value of deeply felt responses in ethics and the arts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emotionalism
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.
Reagan’s statements were similar to JFK’s in that they were rhetorically disciplined—no breast beating, no emotionalism, just the facts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
It is based not just on extreme authority and emotionalism, but a cultivation and worship of the Irrational.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2023
Season 4 continues a progress away from the heightened, delicate emotionalism and wry humor of a Spielberg-style fable and toward the guilt, dread and body terror associated with Brian De Palma and David Cronenberg.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2022
The long-delayed sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” which opens May 27, will follow suit in its desire to give devotees of the 1986 original exactly what they crave: naked emotionalism and fighter jets.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022
However few people can successfully demonstrate a principle in common ethics when their deliberation is festered with emotionalism.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
