as in sickening
overly or insincerely flattering
a gushy review of a novel by an author who just happened to be a friend of the critic
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gushy
There’s no better time to embrace the mushy gushy than in the first few moments after winning gold medals together.
—
Meg Linehan, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
To that end, yes, honeymoon phases are gushy (and self-absorbed).
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
Anything to keep those gushy feelings on repeat in your body!
—Carina Hsieh, SELF, 30 Jan. 2024
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for gushy
Meg Linehan, The Athletic, 10 Aug. 2024
To that end, yes, honeymoon phases are gushy (and self-absorbed).
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
Anything to keep those gushy feelings on repeat in your body!
—Carina Hsieh, SELF, 30 Jan. 2024
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for gushy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gushy
Adjective
-
Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, has sparked global concern in recent weeks after causing the death of three passengers and sickening at least eight others aboard the MV Hondius, a cruise ship traveling from Argentina across the Atlantic.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
18 May 2026
-
Accumulating plastic waste is overwhelming waterways and oceans, sickening marine life and threatening human health.—
Susanne Rust
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Even the soapiest impulses of the film can’t obscure the relevance of that.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
-
Most range hood filters can be popped out and washed in hot, soapy water or run through the dishwasher.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
What makes a face wash better for oily skin versus dry skin?—
Sarah Felbin,
Allure,
20 May 2026
-
All the women are obsessed with an oily, unctuous man named Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s ex-lover Dominique (Liu).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
While these celebrity docs are hagiographic and formulaic, the interviews with Nadal and family and rivals like Federer and Novak Djokovic do push beyond the surface.—
Stuart Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
But all the myth and sorrow around the dynasty mean many takes tilt hagiographic.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Zesty juniper-forward versions soar in a classic Negroni, floral gins impress in a rosy gin-kombucha cocktail, and unctuous savory gin is indelible in a 50/50 martini.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 May 2026
-
Ella Stiller arrives as Patience, Valerie’s social-media guru, Jack O’Brien sweetly plays her new hairdresser, and Andrew Scott, doing the most to eradicate any lingering Hot Priest vibes, plays a wildly unctuous NuNet executive.—
Jennifer Silverman,
Rolling Stone,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Besides being a record of events, the work is a crafty portrayal of kingship, presenting Akbar in an adulatory tone, as an exemplary and divinely favored ruler.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Reggie’s solution is to hire Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), an Oscar-winning documentarian, to make an adulatory film about him, changing public perception and opening new doors.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Another performer might have continued down that path — outward, demonstrative, physically transformational performances akin to the style of his Jean de Florette co-star Depardieu.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
-
No signs or demonstrative materials are allowed.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
His widow doesn’t exactly look too broken up; less than a week after his death, Lee spots her snuggling with Dale’s brother Donald, an oleaginous candidate for governor played by Kyle MacLachlan.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
-
One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.—
David Owen,
The New Yorker,
27 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Gushy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gushy. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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