sentimentality
/ˌsɛntɪmɛnˈtalɪti
/noun (plural sentimentalities) [mass noun]
Exaggerated and self-indulgent tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia: there are passages which verge on sentimentality...
- This is a show that, despite its bygone English rural setting, is without nostalgia or sentimentality.
- I wish people would stop mistaking sentimentality for serious emotion.
- The director lights up the screen with genuine emotions, minus sentimentality.
Synonyms
mawkishness, over-sentimentality, sentimentalism, emotionalism, overemotionalism;
nostalgia, pathos;
romanticism;
kitsch;
British tweeness
informal schmaltz, mush, slush, sob stuff, slushiness, sloppiness, slop, corn, corniness, hokum, cheese
British informal soppiness
North American informal sappiness, hokeyness