maudlin

[ mawd-lin ]

See synonyms for: maudlin maudlinism maudlinness 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.

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

Other 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 | Time
Maury 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 Blade
Not 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 | Time
In 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 BEAST
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 | THE DAILY BEAST

Williams interviewed and profiled four D-Day veterans, showing his sensitive side without ever seeming maudlin.
Hillary Clinton’s Network Massage | Tom Shales | June 10, 2014 | THE 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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
Before Tom's selfishness, Justice threw away her scales and became maudlin sentiment.
A Forest Hearth: A Romance of Indiana in the Thirties | Charles Major
Both were maudlin drunk and each was trying to impress the other with his wisdom, his repartee and boldness.
David Lannarck, Midget | George S. Harney
On the crest of some higher waves of consciousness were borne to him drunken shouts, maudlin blasphemies.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward White
The word maudlin suggests the idea of being ready to weep unnecessarily.
Stories That Words Tell Us | Elizabeth O'Neill
It's your maudlin gospel-millers who get scared at the chance of kicking.
Colonial Born | G. Firth Scott

British Dictionary definitions for maudlin

maudlin

/ (ˈmɔːdlɪn) /

adjective

foolishly tearful or sentimental, as when drunk

Origin of maudlin

C17: from Middle English Maudelen Mary Magdalene, typically portrayed as a tearful penitent

Derived 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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