Sentimental
Feeling sentimental means having tender feelings tied to memories, people or objects that matter to you: a ticket stub, a song from your wedding, a jacket that belonged to your dad. The feeling often lives in a thing you can hold.
- On the wheel: Calm, then nostalgic, then sentimental
- Nearby: Fond, moved
- Often tied to: Objects, places and songs
- Often points to: A person or a time you want to keep close
The jacket that doesn't fit
It's a soft feeling. A lump in the throat, a smile, maybe both, and your hand stays on the thing a little longer than it needs to.
"I still have my dad's old work jacket. It doesn't fit me and the zipper's broken. Every time I clean out the closet, I take it out, smell the collar and hang it back up."
Why a chipped mug outlasts a new phone
Most things lose their shine. A new phone is exciting for a few weeks, and then it's just a phone, a fading that psychologists call hedonic adaptation.
Sentimental value seems to hold out against it. An object's usefulness and features faded in value over time while its sentimental value mostly didn't, across seven studies.1 With sentimental items, people's attention moved off the features and onto the memories and people the object stood for.1
You keep the chipped mug for what it carries.
The duplicating machine
How early does this start? Researchers used a magician's trick to make it look as if a machine could copy objects exactly, then offered young children a choice between the original and the "identical" copy.2
Children were less willing to take a copy of their attachment object, like a favorite blanket, than of a favorite toy.2
For the blanket, the real one mattered more.
When it's a time you miss, or a loss
Sentimental is "this matters because of who it reminds me of", and it's often tied to a thing. When the feeling is "I miss that time", a warm look back at a whole stretch of life, the closer word is nostalgia. And if a keepsake brings mostly pain, you may be looking at grief.
Tender covers some sadness too. A little ache in it is normal.
Keeping the meaning, with or without the object
- Write the story down. One line per keepsake: who it came from and why it matters. In the research, those links to people and memories are what kept sentimental value from fading.1
- Use it, if you can. Wear the jacket, play the record. Using the thing can bring the memory into ordinary days.
- Photograph before you let go. If you need the space, take a picture and write the story before the thing leaves the house.
- Tell someone why it matters. Ask for their story in return.
What object would you save first, and what story does it hold? Write who it connects you to and one moment it brings back.
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask about feeling sentimental
What does it mean to be sentimental?
A sentimental person is one who keeps cards, photos and small objects because of what they stand for, and feels tender about memories and people from their life.
Is being sentimental a good thing?
Mostly. It keeps important people and moments close. The word has a second, more critical meaning too: overly emotional, as in "a sentimental movie".