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tear-jerker

British  
/ ˈtɪəˌdʒɜːkə /

noun

  1. informal an excessively sentimental film, play, book, etc

"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

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.

They could even create different endings for different kinds of fan: a happy ending for the romantics and a tear-jerker for those who appreciate a good tragedy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

It’s the kind of deliciously painful tear-jerker that’s hard to write and even harder to believably pull off, but it’s also not surprising that this particular pairing will break your heart so beautifully.

From Salon • Sep. 2, 2025

Set to Richard Ashcroft's 1990s track Sonnet, the ad is a "real tear-jerker" and suggests the retailer wanted to "return to its roots", analysts said.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2024

Patrick Swayze says his new double-hanky tear-jerker “Ghost” was his heaviest role ever.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2023

"All right," I muttered savagely, "let's go and get a tear-jerker to write!"

From The Harbor by Poole, Ernest

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.