sentimentalism

[ sen-tuh-men-tl-iz-uhm ]
See synonyms for sentimentalism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. sentimental tendency or character; predominance of sentiment over reason.

  2. weak emotionalism; excessive indulgence in sentiment.

  1. a display of sentimentality.

Origin of sentimentalism

1
First recorded in 1810–20; sentimental + -ism

Other words from sentimentalism

  • o·ver·sen·ti·men·tal·ism, noun

Words Nearby sentimentalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sentimentalism in a sentence

  • Abdul was beloved for her ditzy demeanor and blatant sentimentalism on American Idol.

    When Celebs Get Wasted | Gina Piccalo | December 4, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • But that sounded sentimental and moving-pictury, and she knew how Bud hated cheap sentimentalism.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • There is no gilt, no mock modesty in his style; there is to vapid sentimentalism in the ideas he expounds.

  • I don't think I could ever be content under a bad-tempered, sentimentalism, strenuous Government.

    The New Machiavelli | Herbert George Wells
  • The excess of sentimentalism had given rise to the other extreme of naturalism.

    Mary Wollstonecraft | Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for sentimentalism

sentimentalism

/ (ˌsɛntɪˈmɛntəˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the state or quality of being sentimental

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

Derived forms of sentimentalism

  • sentimentalist, 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