sentimental
adjective
sen·ti·men·tal
ˌsen-tə-ˈmen-tᵊl 
1
a
: marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
a sentimental attachment
a sentimental favorite
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally
adverb
Examples of sentimental in a Sentence
He has a sentimental attachment to his old high school.
She saved her wedding gown for sentimental reasons.
He has sentimental ideas about the past.
I tend to get very sentimental when I think about my childhood.
Recent Examples on the Web
Locals are sentimental about the happy, drunken teen graduates, who are thanked by strangers for their future contributions to Denmark.
—
Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Coel gets her moments to assert her character, a smooth operator who masks a surprising sentimental streak.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
The conceit is inherently crowdpleasing — a man stumbling into strangers’ lives and finding unexpected connection — but Hikari steers it with earnestness, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Is this moving-picture love letter overly sentimental, sloppy to a fault, and slightly more affectionate toward its posthumous subject than a basket of puppies high on laughing gas?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
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Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Coel gets her moments to assert her character, a smooth operator who masks a surprising sentimental streak.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
The conceit is inherently crowdpleasing — a man stumbling into strangers’ lives and finding unexpected connection — but Hikari steers it with earnestness, elevating it beyond sentimental comedy.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Is this moving-picture love letter overly sentimental, sloppy to a fault, and slightly more affectionate toward its posthumous subject than a basket of puppies high on laughing gas?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sentimental
Cite this Entry
“Sentimental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentimental. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sentimental
adjective
sen·ti·men·tal
ˌsent-ə-ˈment-ᵊl
1
a
: marked by feeling or sentiment
b
: resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
2
: having an excess of sentiment or sensibility
sentimentally
adverb
-ᵊl-ē
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