sentimentality.

Excessively tender, idealized or self-indulgent emotional expression or response.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• narrative sentimentality
• avoid sentimentality

On the page

The revision reduced sentimentality by preserving the characters’ conflicting motives.

The scene contained strong emotion without the sentimentality the critic had alleged.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: artistic orientation, figurative interpretation, life writing, narrative knowledge. Disciplines: literary writing, literary analysis, advanced general English. Commonness: moderately common.