maudlin
[mawd-lin]
- tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.
- foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for maudlin
Contemporary Examples
Whenever 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 SentimentalityTeo Bugbee
June 26, 2014
Also, beyond incompetence, he was meant to be weak, vain and maudlin.
This is a book that cries out like one of his maudlin ditties to be edited.
How can you write about that earlier self without being either patronizing or maudlin?
That kind of maudlin touch is what we expect … and live for.
Historical Examples
The world has been degenerating into a maudlin state of sentiment for some years.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
So was he above the maudlin sentiment of the "great lovers of noble histories."
A Son of HagarSir Hall Caine
"Ill-fated, indeed, an all accounts be true," returned Crispin in a maudlin voice.
The Tavern KnightRafael Sabatini
"And are damned for a croaking, maudlin' craven," added Joseph.
The Tavern KnightRafael Sabatini
He is probably an edifying spectacle by this time, a mush of maudlin penitence.
The Dominant StrainAnna Chapin Ray
maudlin
- foolishly tearful or sentimental, as when drunk
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Word Origin
C17: from Middle English Maudelen Mary Magdalene, typically portrayed as a tearful penitent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for maudlin
adj.
c.1600, "tearful," from Middle English fem. proper name Maudelen (early 14c.), from Magdalene (Old French Madelaine), woman's name, originally surname of Mary the repentant sinner forgiven by Jesus in Luke vii:37 (see Magdalene). In paintings, she often was shown weeping as a sign of repentance. Meaning "characterized by tearful sentimentality" is recorded by 1630s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper