Meanings
adjectivesentimental (comparative more sentimental, superlative most sentimental)
comparative more sentimental · superlative most sentimental
- Characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion; appealing to the emotions (especially tender emotions) rather than reason, morality, aesthetic taste, etc.
Are you in sentimental mood? I'll sigh with you.
1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC2 more examples
Gonna take a Sentimental Journey, Gonna set my heart at ease. Gonna make a Sentimental Journey, to renew old memories.
1944, Doris Day, Sentimental Journey2007, Steven Wilson, "Normal", Porcupine Tree, Nil Recurring. Wish I was old and a little sentimental
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
adjectivegiven to or marked by sentiment or sentimentality
Similar
adjectiveeffusively or insincerely emotional
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*sent-
- Proto-Italic*sentiō
- Latinsentiō
- Latinsentimentum
- Old Frenchsentement
- Englishsentiment
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishsentimental
Translations
Bulgarian сантиментален, емоционален
- сантиментален (santimentalen)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- емоционален (emocionalen)derived from emotion rather than strictly logical reason
- разнежен (raznežen)romantic
Catalan sentimental
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Chinese Mandarin 感傷 /感伤, 多愁善感
- 感傷 /感伤 (gǎnshāng)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- 多愁善感 (duōchóushàngǎn)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- 煽情 (shānqíng)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Dutch emotioneel
- emotioneelcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Esperanto sentimentala
- sentimentalacharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Finnish tunteellinen, tunne-
- tunteellinencharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- tunne-characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- sentimentaalinencharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- tunne-derived from emotion rather than strictly logical reason
- tunneperäinenderived from emotion rather than strictly logical reason
- romanttinenromantic
French sentimental
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
German sentimental, rührselig
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- rührseligcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Greek συναισθηματικός, συναισθηματικός
- συναισθηματικός (synaisthimatikós)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- συναισθηματικός (synaisthimatikós)derived from emotion rather than strictly logical reason
- συναισθηματικός (synaisthimatikós)romantic
Hungarian érzelgős, szentimentális
- érzelgőscharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- szentimentálischaracterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- szentimentálisromantic
Italian sentimentale
- sentimentalecharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Japanese 感傷的, センチメンタル
- 感傷的 (kanshōteki)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- センチメンタル (senchimental)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Latvian salds
- saldscharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Norwegian Bokmål sentimental
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Persian سانتیمانتال
- سانتیمانتال (sântimântâl)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Polish sentymentalny
- sentymentalnycharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Portuguese sentimental, sentimental
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- sentimentalromantic
- românticoromantic
Romanian sentimental, sentimental
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- sentimentalromantic
- romanticromantic
Russian сентимента́льный
- сентимента́льный (sentimentálʹnyj)characterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Spanish sentimental, sentimentaloide
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- sentimentaloidecharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- sensiblerocharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- cursicharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Swedish sentimental, känslosam
- sentimentalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- känslosamcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- lättrördcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- känsligcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Turkish duygusal, santimantal
- duygusalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- santimantalcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
- romantikromantic
Vietnamese đa cảm
- đa cảmcharacterized by sentiment, sentimentality or excess emotion
Cite this entry
APA
sentimental. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sentimental
MLA
“sentimental.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sentimental. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sentimental,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sentimental.
Source: sentimental on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.