maudlin

[ mawd-lin ]

/ ˈmɔd lɪn /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

IS THIS EIGHTH GRADE VOCAB QUIZ FEASIBLE FOR YOU?

Prove that nothing is amiss with your vocabulary skills by taking this quiz on popular eighth grade vocabulary.

Question 1 of 10

What does the word “confiscate” mean?

to praise or celebrate

to gather together

to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

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

un·maud·lin·ly, adverb

Words nearby maudlin

Mauá, Maubeuge, mauby, Mauchly, maud, maudlin, Maudslay, mauger, Maugham, maugre, Maui

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use maudlin in a sentence

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|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|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|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
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

Derived forms of maudlin

maudlinism, 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

Origin of maudlin

OTHER WORDS FROM maudlin

Words nearby maudlin

Words related to maudlin

How to use maudlin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for maudlin

Derived forms of maudlin

Word Origin for maudlin