mawkish
Americanadjective
-
characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional; maudlin.
- Synonyms:
- teary, sentimental
-
having a mildly sickening flavor; slightly nauseating.
adjective
-
falsely sentimental, esp in a weak or maudlin way
-
nauseating or insipid in flavour, smell, etc
Other Word Forms
- mawkishly adverb
- mawkishness noun
Etymology
Origin of mawkish
1660–70; obsolete mawk maggot ( late Middle English < Old Norse mathkr maggot) + -ish 1. See maggot
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the middle of the night … I’m still haunted by this mawkish pileup of gospel signifiers.
From Los Angeles Times
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, jailed and banned frequently, has never allowed his work get mawkish.
From Los Angeles Times
Morgan’s flair for the mawkish would be fine, and maybe even interesting, if he didn’t make the mistake of making the country music industry piles and piles of money.
From Salon
If that line of reasoning is too mawkish and bleeding-heart for your taste, Worsley makes a more pragmatic argument for a generous, welcoming immigration policy, one unsentimentally rooted in cold dollars and cents.
From Los Angeles Times
If that leaves you expecting mawkish sentiment and introspective wallowing, you've not been paying attention.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
