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Mawkish
Foolishly sentimental; excessively or sickeningly sentimental to the point of being affectation.
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Imagine This
Picture a scene in a movie where every line is a syrupy compliment and every instrument swells with a lush, over the top score; the sentimentality feels forced and almost nauseating.
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Sounds Like
Ma's kiss → Mother's kiss
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Looks Like
Looks like mawk + ish; resembles the word 'maw' (mouth/stomach) plus the suffix -ish.
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Remember This
Mawkish is used to critique scenes, writing, or speech that tries too hard to be touching and ends up sounding artificial or cloying.
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Other Forms
mawkishlyadverb
mawkishnessnoun
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Connect With
sentimental, syrupy, saccharine, maudlin, cloying, gooey
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Note
Do not confuse mawkish with sincere, tasteful emotion; mawkishness implies excessive, tiresome sentiment rather than genuine feeling.
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The film's mawkish ending, with its syrupy speeches and tearful reunions, felt more nauseating than moving.
- Her mawkish birthday card overflows with sugar-sweet compliments that nobody believes.
Synonyms
saccharinecloyingmaudlingooeysappy
Antonyms
sincereunaffectedrestrained
Etymology
From mawk, an archaic noun for the stomach or maw, plus the suffix -ish; originally described sentimentality that was nauseating, with usage dating to the 17th century.
Mnemonic
MAWKISH: MAW (mouth/stomach) + KISH (sick-ish). Imagine the maw reacting to an overly sweet scene and turning feeling into sickness.
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