What does sentimentalism mean?
Sentimentalism is an excessive or self-conscious appeal to emotion, especially feelings of affection, nostalgia, pity, or moral innocence. In everyday criticism, it describes writing, advertising, politics, or popular culture that tries to persuade people through emotional appeal rather than evidence or logical argument. The term is often unfavorable, suggesting that sentiment has displaced judgment or that familiar feelings have been exaggerated. In literary and cultural history, however, sentimentalism may also identify a particular style or sensibility concerned with idealized feeling and human experience. For example, a play may be criticized for sentimentalism when its emotional effects seem manipulative, while a scholar may use the term more neutrally to describe a recurring cultural tendency. The word is related to sentiment and sentimental, but it usually implies a pattern or approach rather than an individual feeling.
nounThe tendency to express or emphasize excessive emotions, especially feelings of affection, pity, or nostalgia. In literary and cultural criticism, it may also refer to a style or approach that places emotional appeal above reason or practical consideration.
- The tendency to display or appeal to excessive sentiment, especially affection, pathos, or nostalgia.
- A literary or cultural tendency that emphasizes emotion and idealized feeling over reason, realism, or practical concerns.
"The novel was dismissed by critics as sentimentalism because it appealed more to the reader's emotions than to careful argument."
"The campaign's reliance on sentimentalism made its emotional appeal stronger but weakened its factual argument."
"Critics saw the play as a fine example of sentimentalism, praising its warmth while questioning its theatrical excess."
The plural is uncommon because the word usually refers to a general tendency or cultural attitude.
"The novel studies the sentimentalisms of family memory and national nostalgia."
Sentimentalism can turn a simple feeling into a grand narrative—and critics often ask whether the heart is being asked to do the work of evidence.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sentimentalism come from?
Sentimentalism derives from sentiment, which came through French sentiment from Latin sentire, meaning “to feel” or “to perceive.” The adjective sentimental and the noun sentimentalism developed from this vocabulary during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as European writers increasingly discussed the emotional and moral dimensions of literature and society. The suffix -ism is used here to name a characteristic attitude, tendency, or movement.
Related word forms
How sentimentalism is actually used
The term is generally critical when used to describe writing, politics, advertising, or popular culture, implying that feeling is being used in place of argument or realism. In literary history, however, it can describe a recognized artistic movement or sensibility rather than simply a fault.
Easily confused with sentimentalism
Sentimentality is the quality or expression of being sentimental, whereas sentimentalism often denotes a broader tendency, approach, or cultural attitude characterized by excessive emotional appeal.