1. excessively sentimental in a way that is disgusting or embarrassing

Examples

• The movie’s mawkish ending made several viewers roll their eyes.
• Her mawkish poetry about lost love was difficult to take seriously.
• The greeting card’s mawkish message seemed insincere.
• Critics dismissed the novel as mawkish and poorly written.
• The politician’s mawkish speech failed to move the audience.
• She found his mawkish declarations of love embarrassing rather than romantic.