Mushy describes something soft and squishy, often unpleasantly so. When you leave cereal in milk too long, it gets mushy: soggy and falling apart instead of staying crunchy. Overcooked vegetables can turn mushy when they lose their crisp texture and become too soft.

The word also describes writing, movies, or conversations that are overly sentimental or romantic in a way that feels excessive. When a story gets too mushy, it lays on the emotions so thick that it starts to feel fake or embarrassing. You might say a movie's ending was mushy if the characters suddenly started expressing their feelings in a way that seemed overdone or unrealistic. Some people enjoy mushy romance novels, while others find them too sweet and prefer stories with more restraint.

In either sense, mushy suggests something that's lost its firmness or definition: food that's lost its texture, or feelings expressed without any edge or complexity. The word carries a slightly negative tone, implying that whatever is mushy has gone a bit too soft.