sentimental
adj.-
1 emotional or nostalgic (adj.) B1 Intermediateconnected to feelings of sadness, love, or nostalgia for the past.
characterized by or exhibiting tender emotions, often linked to nostalgia or personal history.
ExampleShe kept the old ticket stub for sentimental reasons because it was from their first date.
ExampleHe kept the rusted bicycle in the garage for purely sentimental reasons, as it was the last gift his grandfather had given him before passing away.
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2 excessively emotional (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediateshowing too much emotion in a way that feels silly or weak.
excessively or affectedly emotional; often used pejoratively to describe art or stories that rely on cheap emotional appeals.
ExampleThe movie was a bit too sentimental for me, with everyone crying at the end.
ExampleCritics dismissed the novel as a sentimental melodrama that failed to address the complex political realities of the era it depicted.
- sappy
- maudlin
- mushy
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3 based on emotion not logic (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediatedescribes a choice or value based on how you feel rather than what is practical.
derived from or determined by emotion rather than reason or objective value.
ExampleThe house has great sentimental value to the family, even if it needs many repairs.
ExampleWhile the market price of the heirloom was negligible, its sentimental value to the heirs made the legal dispute over its ownership remarkably bitter.
From sentiment + -al.
- Nounsentimentality
- Adjectivesentimental