maudlin

[ mawd-lin ]

/ ˈmɔd lɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR maudlin ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.

foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.

Nearby words

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

Related forms

maud·lin·ism, nounmaud·lin·ly, adverbmaud·lin·ness, nounun·maud·lin, adjective

un·maud·lin·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maudlin

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 Sentimentality|Teo Bugbee|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
This 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|DAILY BEAST
How can you write about that earlier self without being either patronizing or maudlin?
Marco Roth’s Book Bag: The Anti-Memoir Memoir|Marco Roth|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That kind of maudlin touch is what we expect … and live for.
Best 2013 Oscar Moments: Red Carpet, Anne Hathaway & More (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|February 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I thought you scoffed at all baritones, and only delighted in maudlin tenors and anticking sopranos.
The Dominant Strain|Anna Chapin Ray
The men of Lewis and Skye tackled the liquid bounty with great glee, and soon were in a state of maudlin intoxication.
Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland|Daniel Turner Holmes
The maudlin stockman had indeed to be restrained by his neighbors from precipitating himself upon the barrels of Stingaree.
Stingaree|E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
One moment he was in maudlin tears and the next he was cracking some miserable joke about the disaster.
The Johnstown Horror|James Herbert Walker
Gorki's cheap sentiment, and maudlin pity, often result in clap-trap and padding which are foreign to the artist proper.
Maxim Gorki|Hans Ostwald

British Dictionary definitions for maudlin

maudlin

/ (ˈmɔːdlɪn) /

adjective

foolishly tearful or sentimental, as when drunk

Derived Formsmaudlinism, nounmaudlinly, adverbmaudlinness, noun

Word Origin for maudlin

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

maudlin

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of maudlin

Examples from the Web for maudlin

British Dictionary definitions for maudlin

maudlin

adjective

Word Origin for maudlin