Question

Choose the option that is closest in meaning to the word given below.
MAWKISH

• A. Tendentious
• B. Mellifluous
• C. Maudlin
• D. Meridional

Hint:

Mawkish criticizes something for being too sugary and sentimental, like a maudlin, tearful movie scene.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

"Mawkish" describes something excessively and falsely sentimental, sickly sweet in an emotional sense, often used to criticize writing, films, or speech that overdoes sentiment. The question asks for the closest match to this sense.

1. Tendentious: This describes writing or speech that promotes a particular, often biased, point of view. It is about bias, not sentimentality, so it does not match.
2. Mellifluous: This describes a sound, usually a voice, that is sweet and smooth to hear. It refers to sound quality, not excessive emotion.
3. Maudlin: This means self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, in an exaggerated or foolish way, which captures the same overdone, sickly sweet emotion as mawkish.
4. Meridional: This relates to the south or midday, an unrelated geographic or time based term.

"Maudlin" is the word that matches mawkish's sense of excessive, sickly sentimentality.

Let's summarize:

• Mawkish means excessively and falsely sentimental.
• Maudlin shares this exact sense, while the other options describe bias, pleasant sound, or geography, none of which relate to overdone emotion.

So the correct answer is "Maudlin."