emotionalism

[ ih-moh-shuh-nl-iz-uhm ]
See synonyms for emotionalism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. excessively emotional character: the emotionalism of sentimental fiction.

  2. strong or excessive appeal to the emotions: the emotionalism of patriotic propaganda.

  1. a tendency to display or respond with undue emotion, especially morbid emotion.

  2. unwarranted expression or display of emotion.

Origin of emotionalism

1
First recorded in 1860–65; emotional + -ism

Other words for emotionalism

Other words from emotionalism

  • non·e·mo·tion·al·ism, noun

Words Nearby emotionalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use emotionalism in a sentence

  • Like the Furies, the Cheneys stand for unreason and emotionalism.

    Cheney Blood Lust | Lee Siegel | October 22, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • It is apt to confuse vague emotionalism and even hysteria with communion with God.

  • The very period which produced the rationalism of Maimonides gave birth to the emotionalism of the Kabbala.

  • Let there be none of this horrible emotionalism, this undignified welter of thought and feeling.

    The Wind Bloweth | Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne
  • Normal control, conventional standards, old careful habits of conduct, were broken through at a time of excessive emotionalism.

    Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine Hartley
  • That sort of courage is seldom moral; it is, at bottom, emotionalism.

    The Locusts' Years | Mary Helen Fee

British Dictionary definitions for emotionalism

emotionalism

/ (ɪˈməʊʃənəˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. emotional nature, character, or quality

  2. a tendency to yield readily to the emotions

  1. an appeal to the emotions, esp an excessive appeal, as to an audience

  2. a doctrine stressing the value of deeply felt responses in ethics and the arts

Derived forms of emotionalism

  • emotionalist, noun
  • emotionalistic, adjective

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