sentimental
adjective
What sentimental means
Connected with feelings of love or memories, often about the past.
I keep my grandfather’s watch for sentimental reasons.
She gets sentimental when she watches old films.
Test yourself
Five questions about sentimental
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does sentimental mean?
Something sentimental is about love and happy memories, like an old photo that reminds you of someone, and a sentimental person is easily moved by such things.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
You keep your grandmother’s old, broken watch. It is worth nothing, but you would never sell it because it reminds you of her. It has great ___ value.
The watch matters to you because of your memories of your grandmother, not because of its price, and that is sentimental value. Sensible means practical.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
My dad gets very ___ when he looks at photos of us as babies.
Old baby photos bring back memories and feelings of love, so your dad becomes sentimental. Sensible means practical and reasonable, which does not fit here.
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Question 4 of 5Similar word
Which word is closest in meaning to sentimental?
Nostalgic describes the warm, slightly sad feeling of thinking about the past, which is very close to sentimental. Practical is almost the opposite, because it means realistic.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses sentimental correctly?
You are sentimental about something, and after am you need the adjective, not the adverb. Skin that reacts badly to sunlight is sensitive, not sentimental.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Sentimental in a sentence
5 more examples of sentimental in everyday situations.
- At home
I can’t throw away my old school letters; I’m too sentimental.
- Shopping
The ring isn’t worth much money, but it has great sentimental value.
- Moving house
Packing up my childhood bedroom made me feel very sentimental.
- Film reviews
Some critics found the ending too sentimental and predictable.
- At a wedding
My dad got sentimental during his speech and had to stop for a moment.
How to use sentimental
Sentimental can be warm: keeping something because it reminds you of someone. It can also be critical: too emotional and not realistic. Context decides.
Sentimental value is the worth something has because of memories, not because of its price.
Forms
- more sentimentalcomparative
- sentimentallyadverb
- sentimentnoun
- sentimentalitynoun
Patterns
- sentimental value
- for sentimental reasons
- get sentimental about something
- a sentimental song / film / person
Common mistakes with sentimental
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NotI’m sensible about my old toys.
SayI’m sentimental about my old toys.
Sensible means practical and reasonable; to talk about the feelings and memories connected to your old things, use sentimental.
Sentimental or emotional or sensitive?
- sentimental or emotional
- Emotional is general: you can be emotional because of anger, fear or joy. Sentimental is about warm, soft feelings linked to love or the past, like old photos or gifts.
- sentimental or sensitive
- A sensitive person is easily hurt or quickly notices other people’s feelings. A sentimental person keeps old things and loves memories. The words look similar but mean different things.
Sentimental is a C1 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Sentimental word family and collocations
The words that go with sentimental, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- sentimental value
- sentimental reasons
- get sentimental
- a sentimental person
- sentimental song
Word family
- sentimental (adjective)
- sentiment (noun)
- sentimentality (noun)
Similar words
- nostalgic
Questions about sentimental
What does sentimental value mean?
If something has sentimental value, it is important to you because of memories or the person it came from, not because of its price.
Is sentimental a positive or negative word?
It can be both. Sentimental is positive when it shows warm feelings about the past, but it is negative for a film or story that tries too hard to make you cry.
The word before
Do you still remember bargain?
One question about the word from 22 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does bargain mean?
A bargain is a good deal: you get something worth more than you paid, for example a coat at half its usual price.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
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