Maudled

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Evincing an exaggerated sense of emotion that can seem false
2. Showing a level of sentimentality that feels overly dramatic or insincere
3. Expressing emotion in a way that seems exaggerated to the point of appearing untrue

Etymology: "Maudled" is the past tense and past participle of "maudle," a verb formed by back-formation from "maudlin." Back-formation works in reverse: speakers took "maudlin," an adjective, and treated its ending as if it were a suffix, creating a verb from what they heard as its stem. The adjective "maudlin" was itself the source of the new verb, so the verb is younger than the word it was built from. The adjective "maudlin" describes someone weepy or sentimental, especially after drinking, and "maudle" carries the same sense of getting tearfully sloppy with feeling. The word therefore describes a state of excessive emotional display rather than any particular emotion itself. Its shape is a little odd for a verb, which is why it reads as informal, but it fits the way English often turns adjectives into verbs when a speaker needs one.

Synonyms: sentimental, tearful, emotional, mushy, soppy

Antonyms: stoic, unemotional, dispassionate, detached, impassive