maudlin

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“
The man himself had become maudlin, his tongue hung from his mouth, and now and then he ejaculated a sound like the inarticulate cry of an animal.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. adjective Effusively or tearfully sentimental: "displayed an almost maudlin concern for the welfare of animals” (Aldous Huxley). See Synonyms at sentimental.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • She drank and she got maudlin, although she tried to disguise it at first. —  Lippman, Laura - [Tess Monaghan 04] - In Big Trouble
  • This is why they invented the word maudlin , she thought. —  FSF,October2007
  • I was not the only one to whom the maudlin was apparent. —  The Luxembourg Run
  • The subject began when they were maudlin, and as they grew quite drunk, they came to a resolution to go out and beat everybody they met, for being happier than themselves. —  Lives Of The Most Remarkable Criminals Who have been Condemned and Executed for Murder, the Highway, Housebreaking, Street Robberies, Coining or other offences
  • To stop things from getting too maudlin, the scenes of the boy and his Jewish relations being tormented will segue into romantic encounters between a handsome young German couple, as well as humourous exchnages between off-duty Gestapo officers and other Nazis drinking in Aryan-only bars. —  Reading the Maps
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

heartfelt ·  fatuous ·  wistful ·  rueful ·  tenderest ·  morbid ·  high-flown ·  piteous ·  fatherly ·  impassioned ·  effusive ·  hysterical
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Alteration of (Mary) Magdalene, who was frequently depicted as a tearful penitent.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly sometimes maudling, being taken as a present participle form; earlier maudlen, mawdlen; attributive use of Maudlin, i. e. Magdalen, with reference to Mary Magdalene, regarded as the penitent “woman which was a sinner,” and represented by painters with eyes swollen and red with weeping: see magdalen, magdalene.
  2. from Maudlin, a feminine name, from Middle English Maudelein, Maudeleyne, from Old French Magdeleine, Magdelaine, Magdalen: see magdalen. Cf. maudlin, adjective
 

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/ˈmɔdlɪn/
by American Heritage

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