Word of the Week: mawkish (MÔ-kĭsh) Definition (Adjective) Imbued with sickly, false, or feeble sentiment; overly sentimental. In Context "To commercial filmmakers, the bromides suggested by OWI propagandists – wordy soliloquies about freedom, boring discussions of the war's meaning, mawkish dramatizations of unity – seemed destined to be box office poison." M. Todd Bennett, One World, Big Screen: Hollywood, the Allies, and World War II, 2012.