tear-jerking
Brings on waterworks
Tear-jerking describes something designed to provoke strong emotional responses, particularly sadness or sentimentality.
A tear-jerking movie, book, or story manipulates the audience toward crying through dramatic devices like death, separation, or sacrifice.
The term often carries a slightly dismissive tone, suggesting the emotional manipulation is obvious or excessive.
The tear-jerking finale had everyone in the theater reaching for tissues.
Evoking keen emotion
- movingEmotionally affecting
- touchingEvoking gentle emotion
- sentimentalExcessively emotional about memories
- heartrendingCausing overwhelming grief
stirring · affecting · pathos · tragedy · loss · redemption · reconciliation · sacrifice
Excessively sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- schmaltzyExcessively and insincerely sentimental
- overwroughtExcessively emotional or elaborate
- saccharineExaggeratedly sentimental
cloying · sentimental · melodramatic · contrived · calculated · manipulative · exploitative · cheesy
poignant
Evoking keen emotion
- movingEmotionally affecting
- touchingEvoking gentle emotion
- sentimentalExcessively emotional about memories
heartrending · stirring · affecting · pathos · tragedy · loss · redemption · reconciliation · sacrifice · farewell
sappy
Excessively sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- schmaltzyExcessively and insincerely sentimental
- overwroughtExcessively emotional or elaborate
saccharine · cloying · sentimental · melodramatic · contrived · calculated · manipulative · exploitative · cheesy · formulaic
weepy
Inclined to cry
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- heartstringSource of tender feelings
- tissuesSoft disposable paper sheets
emotional · Titanic · Schindler · ending · deathbed · reunion · farewell · sacrifice · tragedy · bittersweet
- sentimentalitymawkish, schmaltzy, saccharine, treacly, cloying
tear-jerkingunemotional
Lacking outward feeling
emotionless · dry-eyed · feel-good · uplifting · heartwarming
tear-jerkingunsentimental
Lacking emotional softness
understated · restrained · dry · detached · dispassionate
tear, jerk, tears, weeping, sobbing, jerky, tearful, jerking, jerkiness