Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MAWKISH
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pronounce
MAWKISH:
Say it "MAW kish."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Today, we'll add mawkish to this list of synonyms:
Gushy
Sappy
Sobby
Weepy
Sentimental
M___lin ("way too emotional in a tearful way")
Ba___tic ("emotional in an insincere, over-the-top way")
Lu____ious ("gloomy or mournful in a fake or exaggerated way")
Mawkish
Could you recall those three words with the blanks?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
In Middle English, mawke means "maggot," a kind of nasty little worm or grub. This mawke may have given us our English word "mawkish," which first meant "sickly, queasy, nauseated."
Over time, it grew to mean "disgustingly sweet, nauseatingly emotional, so sappy that it makes you queasy."
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "these mawkish commercials;" "I found the story unbearably mawkish."
Other forms:
Mawkishly, mawkishness.
how to use it:
"Mawkish" is formal, sophisticated, and usually a bit insulting. It's a semi-common word, and it's easy to understand--it really sounds like what it means--so it grabs attention without causing confusion.
You might talk about mawkish art and music, or mawkish books, movies, scenes, and dialogue.
examples:
"The walls are hung with deer antlers, Old Milwaukee beer promos, and mawkish paintings of game birds taking flight."
— Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, 8 December 1996
"An intensely moving story about an ex-teacher whose obesity defines his life... Moore's skill is to unfold their stories, freighted with unhappiness, in a way that is touching... while never becoming mawkish."
— Jane Housham, The Guardian, 19 April 2013
has this page helped you understand "mawkish"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "mawkish" without saying "too emotional" or "too sentimental."
try it out:
In the Washington Times, Adam Mazmanian wrote, "Movies like 'The Rookie,' 'Trouble With the Curve,' and now 'Million Dollar Arm' celebrate gut instinct, impossible dreams, and are unapologetically mawkish about baseball's appeal to its diehard fans."
Talk about what he means. Why are these movies fine with being so mawkish? What is it that's worth getting mawkish about? Can you think of another movie that's justifiably mawkish?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for this month is Rhyming Puzzles!
I'll give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase.
Longtime readers will recognize this game from years past, when we grappled with silly answers like "shopworn popcorn," "hidebound guide hound," "cow chow kowtow," "unflagging pun bragging," and "catch-as-catch-can Etch A Sketch fan."
The answers will get longer as the month goes on. To see the clue, click the link. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
Rumor has it that if you so much as giggle irreverently at the artwork at this famed D.C. museum, you--and your children, and your children’s children--will be banished permanently. The place is a _________ ___________.
Two words, four syllables each.
Clue: use this word.
review this word:
A. WELL-BEHAVED.
B. MATTER-OF-FACT.
C. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY.
2.
Although you'll often read the phrase "mawkish _____," it's redundant, so I suggest avoiding it.
A. complexity
B. craftsmanship
C. sentimentality
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Today, we'll add mawkish to this list of synonyms:
In Middle English, mawke means "maggot," a kind of nasty little worm or grub. This mawke may have given us our English word "mawkish," which first meant "sickly, queasy, nauseated."
Part of speech:
"Mawkish" is formal, sophisticated, and usually a bit insulting. It's a semi-common word, and it's easy to understand--it really sounds like what it means--so it grabs attention without causing confusion.
"The walls are hung with deer antlers, Old Milwaukee beer promos, and mawkish paintings of game birds taking flight."
Explain the meaning of "mawkish" without saying "too emotional" or "too sentimental."
In the Washington Times, Adam Mazmanian wrote, "Movies like 'The Rookie,' 'Trouble With the Curve,' and now 'Million Dollar Arm' celebrate gut instinct, impossible dreams, and are unapologetically mawkish about baseball's appeal to its diehard fans."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |