anti-sentimentalist
|an-ti-sen-ti-men-tal-ist|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.sɛn.təˈmɛn.təl.ɪst/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.sen.tɪˈmen.təl.ɪst/
against excessive emotion
Etymology
'anti-sentimentalist' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with the English noun 'sentimentalist' (formed from 'sentimental' + suffix '-ist'); 'sentimental' ultimately comes via French 'sentiment' from Latin 'sentire' meaning 'to feel'.
'sentimental' entered English via French 'sentimental' (from Latin 'sentire'); English formed 'sentimentalist' by adding '-ist' in the 18th–19th century, and the prefix 'anti-' was later attached in modern English to create 'anti-sentimentalist'.
Initially the components conveyed a literal sense of 'against feeling' ('anti-' + 'sentimental'); over time the combined term has come to mean specifically 'opposed to excessive sentimentality' or 'preferring restraint and realism over overt emotion'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who opposes sentimentalism or who rejects excessive emotional expression; someone favoring restraint and realism over overt feeling.
He was regarded as an anti-sentimentalist who criticized the novel's melodramatic scenes.
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Adjective 1
opposed to sentimentalism; characterized by or expressing rejection of excessive emotion.
Her anti-sentimentalist critique focused on the book's unnecessary emotional appeals.
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Last updated: 2025/11/20 14:03