1. the quality of being overly sentimental in a way that is disgusting or embarrassing

Examples

• The movie’s mawkishness made several audience members cringe.
• She couldn’t stand the mawkishness of the greeting card’s message.
• The speech descended into pure mawkishness with its excessive emotional appeals.
• Critics praised the film for avoiding the mawkishness typical of the genre.
• The novel’s mawkishness overshadowed its otherwise compelling plot.
• His mawkishness at the wedding reception embarrassed his family.