sentimentality

American  

[sen-tuh-men-tal-i-tee] / ˌsɛn tə mɛnˈtæl ɪ ti /

noun

sentimentalities plural

1. the quality or state of being sentimental or excessively sentimental.

2. an instance of being sentimental.

3. a sentimental act, gesture, expression, etc.

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sentimentality British  

/ ˌsɛntɪmɛnˈtælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state, quality, or an instance of being sentimental

2. an act, statement, etc, that is sentimental

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Usage

What does sentimentality mean? Sentimentality is the state or quality of being sentimental—expressing, appealing to, or being moved by sensitive or tender emotions, such as love, nostalgia, or pity. Sentiment, sentimentality, and other related words (like sentimentalism, which can be used as a synonym of sentimentality) are based on the sense of the word sentiment that refers to sensitive or tender emotions, sensitivity to such emotions, or appeal to such emotions. Such terms are especially used to imply that these emotions are exaggerated or overindulged. Sometimes, they imply that these emotions get in the way of thinking logically or being realistic. In this way, sentimentality often means being overly sentimental. People are sometimes criticized for sentimentality, as in Your sentimentality makes you see things through rose-colored glasses, instead of seeing what they’re really like.  These kinds of criticisms are especially common in the context of art. For example, a book or film may be criticized for its sentimentality in dealing with a historical event. This implies that it portrays the event in an idealized, simplistic, or nostalgic way instead of depicting it accurately and dealing with what really happened. Such works might also be described as melodramatic. When they’re tearfully or weakly emotional, they might be described as maudlin, mawkish, sappy, or weepy. Hallmark holiday movies are known for their sentimentality. Example: His sentimentality is what makes him keep all of his childhood toys.

Synonym Usage

See sentiment.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• oversentimentality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sentimentalities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sentimentality

First recorded in 1760–70; sentimental + -ity

Explanation

Sentimentality is a quality of being overly, dramatically emotional — sad or loving or nostalgic. Your sentimentality on her eightieth birthday might make your down-to-earth grandmother roll her eyes. When your emotions go overboard, becoming a little theatrical or false, that's sentimentality. A person's sentimentality might come in handy if a job as a greeting card writer opens up, or a role in a community theater's production of "Les Misérables." Sentimentality comes from the adjective sentimental, which is rooted in the Medieval Latin sentimentum, "feeling, affection or opinion."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sentimentality sentimentalities

It made up for missed teenage rites of passage — the senior prom, the homecoming dance, the debutante ball — by doubling down on sentimentality.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

We will continue to pay for those things, but I don’t think sentimentality drives enough economic activity to be the last hope of mankind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

The Lakers allowed sentimentality toward Kobe Bryant to distort their vision, signing Bryant to a two-year, $48.5-million extension.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026

"I either continued along the sheep-farming route because of sentimentality or made bold decisions."

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

The Greek mythologists are not rhetoricians and are notably free from sentimentality.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Forward-facing as ever, Ferry does admit that organizing the book itself, and sitting with the wide range of lyrics he’d penned over the years, did provide him with small regrets and sentimentalities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2022

Our own sentimentalities will be twice removed before long.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 2, 2016

There are two or three big sentimentalities here.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2013

NOW Ensemble presented “City Boy,” an effusive new piece by Mr. Greenstein, and ably abetted Mr. Dargel’s deadpan sentimentalities.

From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2011

In 1889, the enormous popularity in Britain of Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah caused George Bernard Shaw to lampoon its Sunday-school sentimentalities and its Music-school ornamentalities’.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• melodrama
• nostalgia