as in sentimental
appealing to the emotions in an obvious and tiresome way
a mawkish plea for donations to the charity
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Recent Examples of mawkish
These kinds of pictures are intended to provoke—to catch the eye with their mawkish absurdity and uncanny-valley optics.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
The flashbacks are dreamy without becoming mawkish, and Gemma’s scenes in Lumon are nightmarish without feeling untethered or otherwordly.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 28 Feb. 2025
Roz rescues wildlife in a Noah’s Ark analogue, then goes from being a disingenuous Christ figure offering sacrifice and promise (but no resurrection) to a mawkish maternal figure.
—Armond White, National Review, 26 Feb. 2025
Beyond all the legal and even medical specifics resides a sense of communal understanding, and — at the risk of sounding mawkish — a deep and abiding love for one’s fellow human beings, which Feder taps into with aplomb.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
The flashbacks are dreamy without becoming mawkish, and Gemma’s scenes in Lumon are nightmarish without feeling untethered or otherwordly.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 28 Feb. 2025
Roz rescues wildlife in a Noah’s Ark analogue, then goes from being a disingenuous Christ figure offering sacrifice and promise (but no resurrection) to a mawkish maternal figure.
—Armond White, National Review, 26 Feb. 2025
Beyond all the legal and even medical specifics resides a sense of communal understanding, and — at the risk of sounding mawkish — a deep and abiding love for one’s fellow human beings, which Feder taps into with aplomb.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mawkish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mawkish
Adjective
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Her voice unleashes a sentimental whirlpool of longing, betrayal, and post-breakup rage without a hint of irony.—
Ernesto Lechner,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
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At the time, the New York Giants star posted a sentimental social media tribute in honor of the occasion.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Skin-tight is out, baggy is in, and these buttery-soft pieces prove that comfort doesn’t have to equal sloppy.—
Katie Ann Lehman,
StyleCaster,
24 Oct. 2025
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These records aren’t sloppy mistakes—they’re the default behavior of most agentic AI systems.—
Keivan Navaie,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Cabana’s greasy floor was sticky under her bare feet.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
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The fruit flies are attracted to them and get stuck on the sticky glue.—
Emma Ashe,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mawkish. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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