mawkish — having a faint sickly flavor; lacking vigor or vitality; excessively sentimental in a way that is disgusting or embarrassing
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: having a faint sickly flavor; lacking vigor or vitality; excessively sentimental in a way that is disgusting or embarrassing
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈmɔːkɪʃ/
Example Sentences
- His mawkish poetry about his pet goldfish made the entire class burst into laughter.
- The greeting card's mawkish message was so cheesy that even my grandmother rolled her eyes.
- Critics dismissed the novel as mawkish and unrealistic.
mawkish
ADJECTIVE[/ˈmɔːkɪʃ/]
having a faint sickly flavor; lacking vigor or vitality; excessively sentimental in a way that is disgusting or embarrassing
The soap opera's mawkish ending had everyone rolling their eyes instead of crying.
His mawkish speech seemed gawkish next to her hawkish stance!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From the Middle English word 'mawk' meaning maggot, combined with the suffix '-ish'. The term originally referred to something infested with maggots or worm-eaten, later evolving to describe something distasteful or nauseating in a figurative sense.
Breakdown
mawk (maggot, from Middle English) + -ish (adjective suffix meaning 'having the quality of') = mawkish
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“His mawkish poetry about his pet goldfish made the entire class burst into laughter.”
“The greeting card's mawkish message was so cheesy that even my grandmother rolled her eyes.”
“Critics dismissed the novel as mawkish and unrealistic.”
“The politician's mawkish speech about family values felt completely insincere.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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