campy

adjective

ˈkam-pē 

campier; campiest

: in the style of camp : absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way

campy horror movies

campy humor

Witnessing their synchronized routine, he almost expects them to break into some campy chorus line from one of the seedier nightclubs.

—Margaret Atwood

He could modify his outbursts into what were sometimes hilariously campy performances.

—Robert Gray

campily

ˈkam-pə-lē 

adverb

The new film promises to be as campily outrageous as its predecessors.

—John Stark

… the Addams Family, the campily macabre clan created by the late cartoonist Charles Addams …

—Margot Dougherty

campiness

ˈkam-pē-nəs 

noun

… hoped to take Rocketeer to a much higher level of sophistication and avoid the campiness of some of the more recent comics-inspired films.

—Ron Magid

… a power-mad despot, played with exhilarating campiness by John Malkovich.

—Steven Rebello

Examples of campy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More than thirty years later, even after Chuck scored nearly a hundred films (including the campy classics Chopping Mall, Ghoulies IV, and the DC Comics adaptation The Return of Swamp Thing), fans still single out his music for Deathstalker II. —Bear McCreary, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025

In the six years since its debut, the show has become an internet sensation, with viewers online embracing the musical's campy humor, jaw-dropping stage illusions and sing-along score, with bootlegs of the production going viral on TikTok and YouTube. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025

In the age of the hate-watch, the truly terrible and the seriously campy can do numbers. —Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025

And did something funny and kitschy and campy, but also poignant? —Joe Lynch, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

camp entry 3 + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above