Sentimental

Sentimental is an adjective describing feelings that are tender, emotional, or activated by affection. It can refer to a person who is easily moved by emotions, to actions that are driven by affection, or to objects, works, or scenes that provoke tenderness or nostalgia. In general usage, a sentimental response emphasizes emotion over reason.

Connotations vary: the term can be neutral, simply noting an affective quality, or pejorative, implying excessive, implausible, or mawkish sentiment. The related noun sentimentality denotes the quality or tendency to generate such feelings; sentimentalism can refer to an artistic or cultural emphasis on emotion.

Originating in the late 18th century, sentimental derives from the French sentiment and the Latin root sensus, from sentir to feel. It has long circulated in English to describe both personal affect and aesthetic styles that foreground feeling.

In literature, film, and music, sentimental works are those designed to evoke tenderness, often through nostalgia, family affection, or moral virtue. The phrase sentimental value refers to emotion-connected rather than market value, as in a keepsake that matters for memory.

See also: nostalgia, sentimentality, mawkishness, emotionalism.