Definition

Noun: A person who is prone to or indulges in excessive sentimentality; someone who bases actions or judgments on feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia, often to an exaggerated or unrealistic degree.

Usage

A "sentimentalist" is someone who is governed by or excessively values sentiment, often prioritizing emotional appeal over practical or rational considerations. The term can be used neutrally, but often carries a mildly critical or dismissive connotation, suggesting a lack of realism or an overindulgence in emotion.

Examples

• He was such a sentimentalist that he kept every birthday card he ever received.
• The film critic dismissed the director as a sentimentalist who relied on cheap emotional tricks.
• Don't be such a sentimentalist; we need to make a logical decision about selling the old car.

Advanced Usage

• In literary or artistic criticism: Used to describe a creator whose work is characterized by an overt, often cloying, emphasis on emotional effect.
  • The novelist was accused by some of being a mere sentimentalist, but her books resonated deeply with a wide audience.

Variants and Related Words

• Sentimental (adjective): Characterized by, expressing, or appealing to tender, nostalgic, or emotional feelings.
  • She had a sentimental attachment to her childhood home.
• Sentimentality (noun): The quality of being sentimental, especially to an excessive degree.
  • The movie's sentimentality felt forced and manipulative.
• Sentimentalism (noun): A tendency to be sentimental; also, the practice of being sentimental, especially in art or literature.
  • The era's literary sentimentalism was a reaction against cold rationality.

Synonyms

• Romantic (when referring to an idealistic, emotional person)
• Emotionalist
• Softie (informal)

Antonyms

• Realist
• Pragmatist
• Stoic
• Cynic (in the context of dismissing emotion)

Related Idioms/Phrases

• To wear one's heart on one's sleeve: To openly show one's feelings. A sentimentalist often does this.
  • As a true sentimentalist, he wears his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see.

Noun

1. someone who indulges in excessive sentimentality