From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmaudlinmaud‧lin /ˈmɔːdlɪn $ ˈmɒː-/ adjective 1 EMOTIONALtalking or behaving in a sad, silly, and emotional way, especially when drunkget/grow/become maudlin Sir Ralph was becoming maudlin after his third glass of claret.2 a maudlin song, story, film etc tries too hard to make people feel emotions such as love or sadness and seems silly a song that is tender without being maudlin
Examples from the Corpus
maudlin• Nearing Birmingham, Crilly grows maudlin.• No plea for contributions was too maudlin.• Then she drinks too much and gets maudlin about this ex-boyfriend.• I became maudlin, drinking more rich claret than my chaplain would like to imagine.• And he does this without being maudlin or self-pitying.• His mood was an explosive mixture of maudlin self-pity and forced gaiety, the latter predominating as he got drunker.• The anger had turned to resentment, and now the resentment was replaced by maudlin self-pity.• There are the quiet, maudlin times: injured parties, slighted lovers, Chet Baker playing to serenade them.get/grow/become maudlin• Nearing Birmingham, Crilly grows maudlin.• The same crew of sorry drunks, getting riotous, getting miserable, getting maudlin.• Then she drinks too much and gets maudlin about this ex-boyfriend.• I became maudlin, drinking more rich claret than my chaplain would like to imagine.Origin maudlin (1500-1600) Maudlin “Mary Magdalen” ((14-16 centuries)), from Old French Madeleine, from Latin Magdalena; because she was shown in pictures as crying 