sentimental
part of speech
adjective (sentimental, more sentimental, most sentimental)
meaning for a pupil
1) Full of tender feelings like love, sadness or longing, especially about the past: a sentimental person is easily moved. tree →
2) Kept or valued for the memories it brings, not for money: a thing has sentimental value. tree →
3) (critical) Too soft and sugary in feeling, making you sad or happy in a way that seems overdone or not real. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories it tells the reader a character is soft-hearted, missing someone or thinking of old times; in English lessons pupils learn it can be praise (warm) or criticism (soppy). Everyday phrases: «sentimental value», «get sentimental», «a sentimental song», «for sentimental reasons». In money talk an old toy may be worth little in pounds or dollars but have huge sentimental value.
examples
- Grandad gets sentimental when he looks at old photos. tree →
- This old teddy has sentimental value, so please don't throw it away. tree →
- Mum kept my first shoes for sentimental reasons. tree →
- The film was too sentimental for my brother, who said it was soppy. tree →
- She sang a sentimental song about her home town. tree →
- Don't get all sentimental on me, it's only a sleepover! tree →
- The ring isn't expensive, but it means a lot to me. It's sentimental. tree →
- Our teacher said the poem was moving without being sentimental. tree →
- The violet, a little too sentimental. tree →
note
Adjective only; noun «sentiment», «sentimentality»; adverb «sentimentally». «Sentimental value» means value in feelings, not price — in a maths problem it adds nothing to the cost. Don't confuse with «sensitive» (easily hurt or quick to notice) or «sensible» (wise, practical).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sentimental» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.