schmaltz

[ shmahlts, shmawlts ]
/ ʃmɑlts, ʃmɔlts /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR schmaltz ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal. exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas.
liquid animal fat, especially of a chicken.

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Also schmalz . Sometimes shmaltz .

Origin of schmaltz

First recorded in 1930–35; from Yiddish shmalts or German Schmalz; cognate with smelt1

Words nearby schmaltz

schlub, schlumbergera, schlump, schm-, Schmalkalden, schmaltz, schmaltzy, schmatte, schmear, Schmeling, schmick
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to schmaltz

sentimentalism, sentiment, mushiness, nostalgia, mawkishness, reminiscence, bathos, triteness, melodrama, maudlinism, melodramatics, gushiness

Example sentences from the Web for schmaltz

British Dictionary definitions for schmaltz

schmaltz

schmalz

/ (ʃmælts, ʃmɔːlts) /

noun

excessive sentimentality, esp in music
US animal fat used in cooking

Word Origin for schmaltz

C20: from German (Schmalz) and Yiddish: melted fat, from Old High German smalz
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