It was such an emotional/touching/sentimental movie

[angliholic]

It was such an emotional/touching/sentimental movie that I wept uncontrollably while watching it.


Do all of the bolded words fit in the above and convey the same idea? Thanks.

[BobK]

The first two do. I'd say "sentimental" had more of a sense of syrupy/over-sweet.

A word you might find useful when talking about this sort of movie is 'tear-jerker'.

"Have you seen Titanic? It's a real tear-jerker. I cried buckets."

[Personal note:I haven't seen it, honest! ]

b

[angliholic]

The first two do. I'd say "sentimental" had more of a sense of syrupy/over-sweet.

A word you might find useful when talking about this sort of movie is 'tear-jerker'.

"Have you seen Titanic? It's a real tear-jerker. I cried buckets."

[Personal note:I haven't seen it, honest! ]

b

Thanks, Bob.
But the bolded part is still not clear to me; why does "sentimental" have more of sense of syrupy/over-sweet?

To make sure, is "tear-jerker" interchangeable with "emotional/touching movie?"

[BobK]

Thanks, Bob.
But the bolded part is still not clear to me; why does "sentimental" have more of sense of syrupy/over-sweet?

To make sure, is "tear-jerker" interchangeable with "emotional/touching movie?"

And another synonym for "tear-jerker" is "weepie", for obvious reasons - a movie that make you weep.

The word "sentimental" collocates typically with "song/lullaby". A sentimental song makes you feel something [positive - love, for example, rather than hatred]. ("Sentimental" also collocates with "reasons" and "value", but in a different sense: "These cuff-links are worthless, but they have immense sentimental value for me because my father gave them to me" - in this case, the "value" is of a kind that relates to sentiment. In the first case, the song is sentimental.

I wouldn't expect to see the word 'sentimental' attributed to a movie, unless the movie was specifically aimed at arousing emotions in a rather clumsy and perhaps rather obvious way. But other people may feel differently!

b

[googlegoogle]

And another synonym for "tear-jerker" is "weepie", for obvious reasons - a movie that make you weep.

The word "sentimental" collocates typically with "song/lullaby". A sentimental song makes you feel something [positive - love, for example, rather than hatred]. ("Sentimental" also collocates with "reasons" and "value", but in a different sense: "These cuff-links are worthless, but they have immense sentimental value for me because my father gave them to me" - in this case, the "value" is of a kind that relates to sentiment. In the first case, the song is sentimental.

I wouldn't expect to see the word 'sentimental' attributed to a movie, unless the movie was specifically aimed at arousing emotions in a rather clumsy and perhaps rather obvious way. But other people may feel differently!

b

syrupy=sentimental?
I have learnt syrupy has more of a negative sense

I guess too syrupy is equal to sentimental???
.

[BobK]

syrupy=sentimental?
I have learnt syrupy has more of a negative sense

I guess too syrupy is equal to sentimental???
.

Not generally. I was just saying that my interpretation of of "sentimental" in that context ['sentimental movie'] would be 'syrupy'.

You're right, 'syrupy' normally has a negative sense, so I wouldn't say 'too syrupy' - which suggests that a certain amount of 'syrupiness' is OK. 'Syrupy' on its own already has the sense of 'too sentimental'.

b