sentimentalist

American  

[sen-tuh-men-tl-ist] / ˌsɛn təˈmɛn tl ɪst /

noun

1. one given to sentiment or sentimentality.

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Usage

What does sentimentalist mean? A sentimentalist is someone who’s prone to being sentimental—expressing, expressing, appealing to, or being moved by sensitive or tender emotions, such as love, nostalgia, or pity. In other words, a sentimentalist is someone who’s prone to sentimentalism or sentimentality. All of these terms 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, sentimentalist is often used to refer to someone who is overly sentimental. People are sometimes criticized for being sentimentalists, as in Sentimentalists 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 sentimentalism 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 sentimentalism, and a person who enjoys them unironically might be called a sentimentalist. Example: He’s the kind of sentimentalist who keeps all of his childhood toys.

Etymology

Origin of sentimentalist

First recorded in 1770–80; sentimental + -ist

Example Sentences

“What you are left with is a characterization of the queen as a rather selfish, introverted sentimentalist who is sort of losing the plot,” he said.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2022

“I’m a sentimentalist at heart. When people give me something, I hold on to it, I’ve kind of always been like that,” Tarantino said Wednesday evening.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2022

"We are dealing with a director who until that point, despite Schindler's List, was seen as a bit of a sentimentalist," he says,

From BBC • Jul. 15, 2022

The man who made “E.T.,” the sentimentalist to whom we once flocked for emotional sensation, now can’t lure us out of our homes.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2022

He was afraid I would paint him as a sentimentalist or, worse, some spineless ally of the Cuban government.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French