mushy
Americanadjective
-
resembling mush; pulpy.
-
Informal. overly emotional or sentimental.
mushy love letters.
adjective
-
soft and pulpy
-
informal excessively sentimental or emotional
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of mushy
Explanation
You might use the adjective mushy to describe an overripe banana or a tear-jerker of a commercial. Either way, it describes something soft. Mushy is a good word for talking about something that's doughy or pulpy, whether it's a hunk of modeling clay or your out-of-shape belly. Another way to use mushy is to mean sticky and sentimental, like a mushy love scene in a terrible movie or a mushy greeting card. Either way, the word comes from mush, or porridge, which originated from mash, or "soft mixture."
Vocabulary lists containing mushy
Sickly Sweet Treats: Sappy and Insincere Valentine Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Catcher in the Rye
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Of course, Ruud’s coming off his own five-set comeback on Friday, to Tommy Paul, so maybe his legs are mushy, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
The classic recipe for fish and chips -- white fish deep-fried in batter, chips, and mushy peas, often with tartare sauce on the side -- dates back to the 1860s.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
Fans could buy stuffed toy versions of items like fish, chips and mushy peas at a temporary shop at the department store Selfridges in London.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026
These days, I notice fuchsia bursts of bougainvillea instead of my mushy backside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
But that’s too mushy to say out loud.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
We can understand things about cultural context and these broader, mushier sort of social debates that the A.I. is just nowhere close to understanding.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2022
The face buttons are also quite small but tactile and clicky, while the D-pad is accurate enough despite being a little mushier than I’d prefer.
From The Verge ● Jan. 21, 2022
Fluctuating temperatures result in growth of ice crystals, further damaging cells and creating a mushier product.
From Washington Post ● May 13, 2020
But support was mushier across party lines, according to the poll.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2019
They had spoiled a bit, seemed softer and mushier, but still had a rich sweetness.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
They seem as withdrawn as Simon, not wanting to call attention to themselves with anything but the mushiest phrases and most reticent rhymes — a timidity that lets the ear write them off as unimportant.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2019
If you’re tuned in to Stevie’s sonic language, his mushiest moments harbor myriad possibilities.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2016
And at Sunday night’s 57th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, the proceedings didn’t feel like a singalong trophy contest so much as a race to pop music’s mushiest, most self-important middle.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2015
What do they amount to, if not the mushiest of split-the-difference compromise?
From Time Magazine Archive
She had her chin tucked down, and her head canted to one side, and her mouth puckered into the mushiest kind of a grin you ever saw.
From Shorty McCabe by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)
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.
