maudlin
tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.
Origin of maudlin
1Other words from maudlin
- maud·lin·ism, noun
- maud·lin·ly, adverb
- maud·lin·ness, noun
- un·maud·lin, adjective
- un·maud·lin·ly, adverb
Words Nearby maudlin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use maudlin in a sentence
Death, the only long-term certainty for any of us, permeates these episodes, although not in an overly maudlin way.
The Final Season of Better Things Is Pamela Adlon’s Masterpiece | Judy Berman | February 28, 2022 | TimeMaury brings his queerness to the screen without a filter, and it’s glorious, whether you find him maudlin or not.
French actor goes home to mother in ‘My Best Part’ | John Paul King | February 17, 2022 | Washington BladeNot even an actor of Allen’s caliber can elevate material this maudlin.
Stephen King Adaptation Lisey's Story Is Mawkish, Dull and Too Long by Half | Judy Berman | June 4, 2021 | TimeIn another series, drafting a fantasy football team by the side of a fallen comrade could be sentimental, even borderline maudlin.
The MVPs of Sleaze Are Back: FXX's 'The League' Ups the Degenerate Ante | Emily Shire | September 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhenever the script seems ready to surrender to maudlin excess, Gosling and McAdams are there to pull it back.
A Love Letter to ‘The Notebook,’ a Melodrama That Commits to Its Sentimentality | Teo Bugbee | June 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Williams interviewed and profiled four D-Day veterans, showing his sensitive side without ever seeming maudlin.
Also, beyond incompetence, he was meant to be weak, vain and maudlin.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers | Nik Cohn | February 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is a book that cries out like one of his maudlin ditties to be edited.
Hatchet Job of the Year 2014 Shortlist Announced | The Telegraph | January 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBefore Tom's selfishness, Justice threw away her scales and became maudlin sentiment.
A Forest Hearth: A Romance of Indiana in the Thirties | Charles MajorBoth were maudlin drunk and each was trying to impress the other with his wisdom, his repartee and boldness.
David Lannarck, Midget | George S. HarneyOn the crest of some higher waves of consciousness were borne to him drunken shouts, maudlin blasphemies.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward WhiteThe word maudlin suggests the idea of being ready to weep unnecessarily.
Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'NeillIt's your maudlin gospel-millers who get scared at the chance of kicking.
Colonial Born | G. Firth Scott
British Dictionary definitions for maudlin
/ (ˈmɔːdlɪn) /
foolishly tearful or sentimental, as when drunk
Origin of maudlin
1Derived forms of maudlin
- maudlinism, noun
- maudlinly, adverb
- maudlinness, noun
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
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