Sentimentalize
verb
verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To give a sentimental feel to. transitive
"Let us not sentimentalize things just because they are old. Getting all dewy-eyed about it because it was started in the 17th century doesn't make sense when we're talking about the town dump."
- 2 act in a sentimental way or indulge in sentimental thoughts or expression wordnet
- 3 To think or act in a sentimental manner; to get sentimental. intransitive
"he learnt to sentimentalize over cathedrals and monasteries , pictures and statues , saints and kaisers"
- 4 look at with sentimentality or turn into an object of sentiment wordnet
- 5 make (someone or something) sentimental or imbue with sentimental qualities wordnet
Example
More examples"Let us not sentimentalize things just because they are old. Getting all dewy-eyed about it because it was started in the 17th century doesn't make sense when we're talking about the town dump."
Etymology
From sentimental + -ize.
More for "sentimentalize"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.