tearjerker
Film prompting sobs
A tearjerker is a movie, book, song, or other work designed to provoke strong emotions, especially sadness: The film is an unabashed tearjerker.
The term carries a slight note of criticism—implying the emotional manipulation is obvious or excessive—but is often used affectionately for works that deliver a satisfying cry.
Sensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- sobfestExtended emotional crying event
- cryfestProlonged collective weeping
- weepyInclined to cry
- weepieSentimental sad film
schmaltzy · sappy · maudlin · mawkish · lachrymose · schmaltz · waterworks · sobbing
Intense sorrow from loss
- lossBeing without something
- bereavementState following loss
- mourningPeriod following loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
tragedy · death · dying · terminal · farewell · goodbye · funeral · widow
Evoking keen emotion
- touchingEvoking gentle emotion
- movingEmotionally affecting
- affectingEmotionally moving
- heartfeltDeeply and sincerely meant
tender · bittersweet · wistful · nostalgic · evocative · soulful · sincere · emotional
Ill-fated 1912 vessel
- BambiAnimated woodland fawn
- The NotebookElderly love remembered
- Steel MagnoliasSouthern women's friendship drama
- Old YellerFrontier family's doomed pet
melodrama
Sensational, emotionally overwrought drama
weepie · schmaltzy · sappy · maudlin · mawkish · lachrymose · schmaltz · waterworks · sobbing · blubbering
grief
Intense sorrow from loss
- lossBeing without something
- bereavementState following loss
- mourningPeriod following loss
sorrow · tragedy · death · dying · terminal · farewell · goodbye · funeral · widow · orphan
poignant
Evoking keen emotion
heartfelt · tender · bittersweet · wistful · nostalgic · evocative · soulful · sincere · emotional · stirring
Titanic
Ill-fated 1912 vessel
- BambiAnimated woodland fawn
- The NotebookElderly love remembered
- Steel MagnoliasSouthern women's friendship drama
Old Yeller · Ghost · My Girl
- emotional rhetoricpathos, emotional appeal, appeals to emotion, loaded language, loaded words
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- HollywoodHollywood, Tinseltown, Hollywood Sign, silver screen, movie stars
- emotional tropestragedy, romance, drama, love story, heartbreak
- heartbreakheartache, broken heart, heartbreak, dumping, lost love
- heartwarmingfeel-good, touching, heartfelt, uplifting, tender
tearjerkercomedy
Work meant to amuse
laugh riot · knee-slapper · farce · slapstick · screwball comedy
tearjerkerblack comedy
Humor from taboo subjects
dark comedy · satire · deadpan comedy · documentary · absurdist comedy