maudlin

/ˈmɔdlən/

Other forms: maudlinly

You can use maudlin to describe something that brings tears to your eyes, or makes you feel very emotional. Tearjerkers like "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic" can be described as maudlin.

Maudlin was a form of the name Mary Magdalene, a character from the Bible represented in paintings as a weeping sinner asking forgiveness from Jesus. Maudlin is often paired with sentimental, or even schlocky, to describe cry-fests, as in "I can't watch another second of that overly-sentimental, maudlin soap opera. Turn that schlock off."

Definitions of maudlin

1. adjective

   very sentimental or emotional
   “maudlin expressions of sympathy”

   synonyms: bathetic, drippy, hokey, kitschy, mawkish, mushy, sappy, schmaltzy, schmalzy, sentimental, slushy, soppy, soupy

   emotional

   of more than usual emotion