mawkish

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈmɔkɪʃ/ UK /ˈmɔːkɪʃ/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
excessively sentimental in a feeble or sickly way

The film's mawkish ending made audiences cringe.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · excessively sentimental in... sentimental maudlin saccharinecloyingsappy gushing

Opposites

unsentimentalaustere stoic

Word family

Derived forms mawkishlymawkishness

Related forms maggot

Etymology

From obsolete mawk ('maggot'), from Middle English mawke, from Old Norse mathkr ('maggot'), plus -ish. Originally 'sickening, nauseating' (as if maggoty), the sense shifted to 'feebly sentimental'.

mathkr Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# mawkish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈmɔkɪʃ
**IPA (UK):** ˈmɔːkɪʃ

## Meanings
1. excessively sentimental in a feeble or sickly way

## Examples
- The film's mawkish ending made audiences cringe.

## Synonyms
- sentimental
- maudlin
- saccharine
- cloying
- sappy
- gushing

## Antonyms
- unsentimental
- austere
- stoic

## Derived Forms
- mawkishly
- mawkishness

## Related Forms
- maggot

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mathkr

## Etymology
From obsolete mawk ('maggot'), from Middle English mawke, from Old Norse mathkr ('maggot'), plus -ish. Originally 'sickening, nauseating' (as if maggoty), the sense shifted to 'feebly sentimental'.

## AI Etymology
Mawkish comes from obsolete mawk ('maggot'), from Middle English mawke, from Old Norse mathkr ('maggot'), plus -ish. Originally 'sickening, nauseating' (as if maggoty), the sense shifted to 'feebly sentimental'. The etymological trail includes Old Norse mathkr. As an adjective, mawkish means excessively sentimental in a feeble or sickly way. The same family is visible in derived forms such as mawkishly and mawkishness and related forms such as maggot.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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