- tending to indulge the emotions excessively
- making a direct appeal to the emotions, esp to romantic feelings
- relating to or characterized by sentiment
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sen•ti•men•tal /ˌsɛntəˈmɛntəl/USA pronunciation
adj.
sen•ti•men•tal•ist, n. [countable]
sen•ti•men•tal•i•ty /ˌsɛntəmɛnˈtælɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
sen•ti•men•tal•ly, adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- of or relating to the tender emotions, esp. excessively:sentimental dreams of love and marriage.
- embarrassingly emotional:Let's not get too sentimental about our relationship.
- nostalgic:a sentimental journey to one's old hometown.
sen•ti•men•tal•ist, n. [countable]
sen•ti•men•tal•i•ty /ˌsɛntəmɛnˈtælɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
sen•ti•men•tal•ly, adv.
sen•ti•men•tal
(sen′tə men′tl),USA pronunciation adj.
sen′ti•men′tal•ly, adv.
- expressive of or appealing to sentiment, esp. the tender emotions and feelings, as love, pity, or nostalgia:a sentimental song.
- pertaining to or dependent on sentiment:We kept the old photograph for purely sentimental reasons.
- weakly emotional;
mawkishly susceptible or tender:the sentimental Victorians. - characterized by or showing sentiment or refined feeling.
- sentiment + -al1 1740–50
- 1. romantic, tender, nostalgic; maudlin, bathetic.
- 1. 4. dispassionate.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sentimental /ˌsɛntɪˈmɛntəl/ adj
'sentimental' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ballad
- barbershop
- corn
- corny
- Delaroche
- Dennis
- glurge
- goo
- gooey
- gush
- gusher
- haunting
- hokum
- icky
- kaleyard school
- kitsch
- maudlin
- mawkish
- melt
- mushy
- namby-pamby
- New Country
- novelette
- novelettish
- pilgrimage
- romance
- romantic
- schmaltzy
- sentimentalism
- sentimentality
- sentimentalize
- sentimental value
- sloppy
- slush
- softie
- soft spot
- soppy
- stardust
- Sterne
- sweet
- syrupy
- tear-jerker
- torch song
- trot
- twee
- weepy
- aw
- bric-a-brac
- calendar art
- camp