How to understand the word sentimental. What does Sentimentality mean? Meaning Sentimental Man

Sometimes tears suddenly roll in for no particular reason - I just suddenly remembered something or the music I heard is so beautiful that it’s hard to keep the feelings inside, but I can’t express them in any other way. In all these cases we are talking about such a feeling as sentimentality.

What does sentimentality mean?

The meaning of the word sentimentality becomes clear once you look at the French root “sentiment”, which translates as “feeling”. That is, this is a certain property of the psyche, which is characterized by high receptivity and daydreaming. If a person is in a sentimental mood, then all the impressions that he draws from the world around him have an impact not on the mind and thoughts, but, first of all, on feelings.

Sentimental people can show enthusiasm, tenderness, emotion and empathy for no particular reason. They are not indifferent to what others do not pay attention to or do not react so sharply to.

Increased sentimentality

In general, the concept of increased sentimentality is quite individual and depends on the norms of an individual person. For some, it is normal to shed a tear over a book and squeal with joy when accidentally meeting an old acquaintance, while others cannot afford to show their feelings at the funeral of a loved one, because they consider it a sign of weakness.

But if emotional reactions are too strong, a person cannot control them, and shows them inappropriately, then such sentimentality can be defined as excessive.

Increased sentimentality is usually characteristic of women. Men also become more sensitive over time, this is due to age-related changes, in particular, with a decrease in the production of male hormones, but they rarely reach the level of the fair half of humanity.

Excessive sentimentality can be constant and situational. If you are used to not keeping feelings to yourself, but openly expressing them in sometimes eccentric ways, and this does not interfere with your life at all, then you should not worry.

But situational sentimentality can manifest itself even in reserved people in connection with a certain mood, state of health or event. We always become more vulnerable under the weight of problems or when something hurts. There is also a risk of losing control over the expression of emotions if you hold them back for a long time. Convincing yourself that strong people don't cry and ladies always behave with restraint, you are literally dooming yourself to a breakdown, which can happen suddenly.

How to get rid of sentimentality?

Let's start with the fact that you need to get rid of it only if it really bothers you. Otherwise, such violence against one’s nature is completely unjustified.

Try to realize that you don’t always need to restrain your emotions; there are situations in which they are not only possible, but also necessary, because at the very least it brings people closer together. Most likely, you should control yourself at work, but with your family and alone you don’t have to be ironclad. Do not avoid close contacts; it is extremely important for any person not to experience all moments of joy and sadness alone.

Clearly identify those situations in which you can show emotions and try to experience as many feelings as possible in them and concentrate more strongly on them. This will help you better understand yourself and examine your reactions. You will always know what to expect next. In addition, emotions will not accumulate and will not be able to suddenly burst out.

Try to make this change in your life and after some time give yourself a kind of “sentimentality test”. After all, if you consider yourself a too unrestrained person, you probably have situations in which this manifests itself. Now it’s easy enough to get into them, for example, turn on a movie that you couldn’t watch to the end because of rolling tears. The reaction may not change, but in this case, you should again think carefully about whether you need to fight sentimentality or whether you should accept it.

SENTIMENTAL

SENTIMENTAL

sensitive, otherwise sentimental.

A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. - Popov M., 1907 .

Sentimental

(fr. sentimental)

2) overly sensitive, cloyingly tender, tearfully touching.

New dictionary of foreign words. - by EdwART,, 2009 .

Sentimental

[fr. sentimental]. 1. Sensitive, cloyingly tender, in the manifestation of feelings reaching the point of sweetness (usually disapproved). Sentimental girl. 2. Adj., by value. associated with sentimentalism in literature (lit.).

Large dictionary of foreign words. - Publishing House "IDDK", 2007 .

Sentimental

oh, oh, flax, flax ( fr. sentimental sensitive).
1. full f. Based on principles sentimentalism. WITH. novel.
2. About a work of art: sweet, one that is easy to touch. WITH. movie.
3. About the person: capable of being easily moved and emotional. Sentimental young lady.
Sentimentality -
1) sentimental property 2, 3;
2) sentimental 2 act, sentimental behavior, expression.
get sentimental (decomposition) -
1) to be sentimental3, to be tender;
2) treat someone too soft, condescending.

Explanatory dictionary of foreign words by L. P. Krysin. - M: Russian language, 1998 .

See what "SENTIMENTAL" is in other dictionaries:

See gentle... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. sentimental unnatural, tender; in pink water, sweet, cloying, leafy, sentimental, soft,... ... Synonym dictionary

- [se] (or sentimental), sentimental, sentimental; sentimental, sentimental, sentimental (French sentimental). 1. Sensitive, cloyingly tender, in the manifestation of feelings reaching the point of sweetness (usually inappropriate). Sentimental romance... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

SENTIMENTAL, (sentimental) French. cloyingly sensitive, delicately touching; ness, quality is; to show off, to flaunt sugary sensitivity, tenderness, subtlety of feelings. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

SENTIMENTAL, oh, oh; flax, flax. 1. full Based on the principles of sentimentalism (in 1 value). Sentimental story. 2. Sweet, and also one that is easy to touch and touch. S. rhyme. S. romance. 3. Capable of being easily moved,... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

sentimental- oh, oh. sentimental, ale adj. 1. lit. Rel. to sentimentalism. She is sitting in front of the window. The fourth volume of the Sentimental Novel is open before her. Fluff. Count Nulin. 2. Overly sensitive, cloyingly tender in expressing feelings. BAS 1. What happens after? ..… … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

sentimental- and outdated sentimental. The pronunciation [sentimental] is becoming obsolete... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

sentimental- extremely sentimental terribly sentimental... Dictionary of Russian Idioms

sentimental- oh, oh; flax, flax 1) Related to sentimentalism, associated with sentimentalism. Sentimental direction in literature. 2) About a person: easily moved, capable of quickly being moved and feeling. We now know quite well... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Also sentimental. The form on e is from it. sentimental or English. sentimental (Richardson 1753; Stern 1768; see also Kluge Goetze 560). Form a - from French. sentimental... Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Vasmer

I adj. 1. ratio with noun sentimentalism I, associated with it 2. Characteristic of sentimentalism [sentimentalism I], characteristic of it. II adj. 1. Overly sensitive, cloyingly tender in expressing feelings. Ott. Characteristic of an overly sensitive... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Books

• Sentimental novel, Panova V.. The book by the famous Soviet writer Vera Fedorovna Panova (1905-1973) includes a novel and three stories, created in different periods of her life and revealing different facets of her creativity.…

Knowing the lexical meaning of the word “sentimentally” will help anyone be able to use it correctly in their oral and written speech, as well as understand what others are talking and writing about. This wonderful word will appeal to anyone.

Etymology of the word "sentimentally"

The word “sentimentally” is an adverb answering the question “how?”, formed from the adjective “sentimental” and the noun “sentimentality”. This word is of French origin and came into use in the Russian language during the time of Napoleon.

However, the word sentire in Latin means “to feel.” That is, the original origin of the word “sentimental” comes from an ancient language. And French already took the word sentire from Latin and formed derivatives from it.

Lexical meaning of the word "sentimental"

Sensuality in Russian can be understood in different ways: as sexuality, touching, emotionality. That is why the existence of another word, “sentimentality,” is so important, which can express a state of strong sensitivity in relation to some object or event.

In addition, this word can also express a way of thinking. You can be a sentimental person who has highly developed feelings. This is a state when rationality fades into the background, and a person is consumed by emotions. Most often, these are not just emotions, but with a tinge of sadness, pity, that is, these are subtle feelings.

In Russian literature, sentimentality was attributed to gentle young ladies who constantly wanted to experience high emotions. Such feelings manifest themselves in love, in gentleness, in deep experience of even minor events. Sentimentalism is a whole movement in literature that glorifies this feeling.

Usage examples

The meaning of the word “sentimentally” is easy to find in literary texts of the 18th-19th centuries, that is, for a deep understanding of the meaning you need to read special literature.

In order to learn how to use a new word, you need to consider options for using it in practice. Here are some examples of the use of this word in real speech:

1. This girl is too sentimental, how could you cry because the chick fell out of the nest?
2. Movies don't usually move me, but this one was very sentimental.
3. After that, she exhaled deeply and said, “How sentimental!”

This word will serve as an excellent decoration in your language. A deep and even cloying sensitivity towards everything, a whole view of the world - can be sentimental. A beautiful word of Latin origin, glorifying the privileged position of the senses in relation to the mind, will appeal to anyone who wants to expand their vocabulary.

Sentimentality is a person’s manifestation of excessively strong emotions where they are inappropriate. Empathy, admiration, tenderness, grief - these are just some of the quite common experiences for a sentimental person. However, all this appears in an exaggerated, inappropriate form, which makes such people weak or unrestrained in the eyes of others.

Manifestations of sentimentality

The desire to find out is understandable, given how often this word is used in literature and cinema. Sentimentality can manifest itself in different ways, depending on the person. Some people tend to be overly empathetic, constantly putting themselves in the shoes of some kind of victim. For example, while watching a sad, dramatic film, a sentimental person may burst into tears at a particularly emotional moment. This display of affection may be sweet if performed by a woman, but a man's reputation can be seriously damaged after such an incident.

A sad book or a soulful song can also touch a sentimental person. Naturally, excessive sentimentality concerns not only negative emotions. Admiration or tenderness can also overflow, even if others see no reason for this. Therefore, excessive sentimentality can become a problem if it is not brought under control.

Control over emotions

It would seem that since sentimentality brings so many troubles, it would be better to keep a tight rein on oneself and restrain the flow of inadequate emotions. But this approach only seems correct at first, because constant suppression of strong emotional impulses can lead to disaster. The repressed material will be deposited in the depths of the subconscious, so that one day it will break out from there in a terrifying torrent. To avoid having to resort to the services of a psychotherapist later, you need to act gently, trying to better understand your own emotions and understand the reason for such intense experiences.

You should allow your emotions to come out, just do it alone, then over time you will be able to take control of your sentimentality without suppressing or torturing yourself.

Sentimentality in women

Women are affected by emotions much more than men. When thinking about what sentimentality is, images of sensual, unbalanced ladies come to mind, whose lives are subordinated to feelings, and not to the voice of reason. Such women are able to loudly admire every little thing, keep memorabilia for years, reverently remembering the past days.

A small child, kitten, puppy or other cute things evoke such strong affection in sentimental women that it can simply shock others.

Over time, sentimentality has become firmly associated with the standard image of a woman, but this is just a stereotype, because not all of them are overly sensitive. However, usually the older a woman is, the more sentimental she is. Everyone has come across compassionate aunties, ready to faint at the first opportunity or melt into emotion as soon as they see a child.

Sentimentality in men

If a sentimental woman is a fairly common phenomenon that does not cause disgust or hostility in most people, then a man showing extreme sensitivity is a completely different matter. To understand what sentimentality is for a man, just imagine a grown man crying over a melodrama or squealing with delight in the middle of the street. A man who is too sensual looks ridiculous, it is difficult to gain respect for him, because a stereotypical male representative should be a strong and stern titan, and not a wimp who pities all living things around him.

Too intense expression of feelings is considered a weakness in the cruel world of men, and women are also looking for strong, viable partners. However, anyone who believes that a sensitive person is always such simply does not understand what sentimentality is. Only the sensual side of personality cannot constantly dominate in a person - usually it manifests itself and immediately fades back into the background. Therefore, the sentimental subject can be cruel and inhuman in everyday life, and unbridled surges of sympathy or delight only temporarily hide his true nature.

Is it bad to be sentimental?

There is nothing wrong with someone being driven by sentimentality. The importance of such human qualities as pity or empathy is greatly underestimated in a modern society built on competition.

The modern world encourages the ruthless removal of any obstacles to wealth. Over time, a person may completely lose qualities such as empathy or kindness, in favor of a meaningless race for material well-being.

Therefore, if you know how to empathize with living beings and feel sorry for those who are in difficult situations, this can become your advantage and fill your life with meaning and beauty. It is only important to competently manage your feelings, otherwise they will begin to control you. What is sentimentality - a gift of fate or a curse? Depending on the person, it can either bring positive experiences or cause negativity and depression. Everything depends on you.

There are people who can be moved to tears because of yet another melodrama, and for some, even touching personal circumstances do not evoke emotions. What is the reason for such different reactions to events? The point is a person’s personal qualities, or rather, one trait that forces him to take everything too close to his heart and constantly identify himself with strangers and events, worrying for no serious reason. This mental property is called sentimentality - increased receptivity and daydreaming. For such a person, impressions received from the outside world affect the feelings, and not the mind and thoughts. So it turns out that a sentimental person sheds a tear from reading a book, watching the news or a sad story that happened to strangers.

In a certain sense, this trait refers to hypersensitivity, which, even under insignificant circumstances, greatly changes. Such individuals show tenderness, empathy, and tearfulness for any reason. They do not remain indifferent even in situations that do not awaken feelings in other people. Some consider sentimentality to be a type of pity, when a person identifies himself with a disadvantaged object and acutely experiences the emotions inherent in it. However, these concepts should be separated: if pity is compared to a chronic disease, then sentimentality is a short and instant attack of illness, followed by inevitable relief.

Is sentimentality good or bad?

It is better to consider each character trait from different angles, from the point of view of necessity and value for a person’s life. Therefore, many people wonder: is being sentimental good or bad? It is impossible to give a definite answer, besides, everything in life is relative. However, it is worth speculating on this matter so that everyone can draw the right conclusion for themselves.

Is it bad when a person is able to heartily empathize with others? Individuals endowed with this quality fully share the sadness and joy of those around them. And how nice it is when, at a wedding ceremony or when being discharged from the maternity hospital, loved ones do not hold back their tears. Perhaps sentimentality in a person is nothing more than a sign of a living, unossified soul. After all, in modern society people are closed and lonely. It is no longer customary to go on a visit without an invitation, to simply help women carry a heavy bag home, and even to give a compliment to a colleague is considered unnecessary by many. Everyone is fixated on their own problems, and openness and naturalness are considered strange and suspicious.

One thing is clear that sentimentality is not a negative character trait, but in a sense important and rare. However, one should not assume that people with this quality are weak. History shows that some famous writers and cruel rulers were sentimental individuals and became touched in certain situations. It follows from this that this character trait does not apply to all spheres of people’s life. Some people are moved to tears by animals, although when communicating with people such a person can be firm and even merciless.

Excessive sentimentality

As popular wisdom says: everything is good in moderation. It is believed that excessive sentimentality has an adverse effect on the individual and the people around him. However, everything is individual and everyone determines the boundaries of the manifestation of feelings. For some, it is common to squeal with joy at a long-awaited meeting or burst into tears at a sad movie, but for some people such behavior will seem like weakness, and they will hold back their emotions in any circumstances. There are situations when emotions go off scale and a person is no longer able to control them, displaying them in absurd and inappropriate ways. In such cases we are talking about excessive sentimentality.

As a rule, this mental property is inherent to a greater extent in women. However, the stronger sex also develops sensitivity over time, this is due to a decrease in male hormones and age-related changes in the body.

Excessive sentimentality can manifest itself in different ways: constantly or in certain situations. If a person is used to keeping emotions to himself, but sometimes gives them vent in original ways, this does not harm his state of mind. It is more difficult for people endowed with hypersensitivity, who for some reason cannot openly express feelings. For example, when there is a difficult situation at home or at work, and expressing your feelings seems inappropriate. Constantly holding back strong emotions inevitably leads to a psychological breakdown at an unexpected moment. People who consider tears a sign of weakness and who think that ladies and gentlemen always behave with restraint and under no circumstances “lose face” are especially susceptible to this.

Nature is much smarter than man, and it is not for nothing that she has awarded some individuals with certain character traits. In fact, it is useful for sensitive people to “let off steam,” otherwise contact with the world of emotions may be disrupted. In this case, increased sentimentality is manifested by constant tearfulness or painful sensitivity. So, a girl can constantly cry at the slightest trouble, leading to bewilderment and annoyance of loved ones. To an extreme degree, there is even inappropriate behavior when a person becomes so immersed in extraneous events and problems, deeply feeling and worrying about them, that it interferes with normal everyday life and takes him away from his own goals.

How to get rid of excessive sentimentality

When increased sensitivity disturbs personal peace and prevents you from living normally and sleeping soundly, you should study information on how to get rid of excessive sentimentality. This will help restore contact with the world of emotions and get rid of unnecessary worries about any reason. A number of special exercises related to working on the correct and relevant expression of emotions are recommended:

"Here and now". Several times during the day, distract yourself and ask yourself the question: how am I feeling at the moment? And in your mind go through all the emotions you experience. It is better to perform such actions as carefully as possible, to delve into and identify minor shades and subtleties of the state of mind.
You should find out how many words expressing feelings a person uses in everyday life every day. During the period of time allotted for this exercise, you need to increase this number at least twice.
“Empathetic guesses” are fantasies about how others feel. The exercise can be performed anywhere: on the bus, at work, at home. Moreover, it is even worth asking household members about the correctness of the assumptions. Children of senior school age should be involved in such activities; it will benefit them: against the backdrop of an exciting activity, their vocabulary of feelings will also be expanded.

It is worth understanding that it is not always necessary to suppress emotions: in the circle of loved ones and alone, it is better to take off the mask of indifference and express true feelings. There is no need to shy away from close communication, because it is extremely important for people to share moments of despondency and happiness with others. It will be useful to identify situations that contribute to the manifestation of strong emotions, imagine them and concentrate on the feelings. This will help you more accurately determine your reactions and understand what to expect in the next moment. Thanks to this training, suppressed feelings will not accumulate and will not cause another nervous breakdown.

Still, it’s nice to meet sincere people who are capable of touching emotions and empathy. Sentimentality, shown in moderation, brings bright and rich impressions into everyday life, allowing you to acutely feel sad and sad things. Isn't that what life is all about? And what do closed, gloomy and stingy people say about expressing feelings - who cares!