verb make (someone or something) sentimental or imbue with sentimental qualities.
— synonyms: sentimentalize
verb look at with sentimentality or turn into an object of sentiment.
— synonyms: sentimentalize
verb act in a sentimental way or indulge in sentimental thoughts or expression.
— synonyms: sentimentalize, sentimentize, sentimentise
Examples
“Let us not sentimentalize things just because they are old. Getting all dewy-eyed about it because it was started in the 17th century doesn't make sense when we're talking about the town dump.”