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

There have been many versions of Supergirl, from the iconic comics to the 1984 campy classic film to the TV show, and now the new movie. — Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026

Others look too personal, too theatrical, too decorative, too campy, too gossipy, too visibly marked by feeling. — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026

Even its occasional attempts at campy tongue-in-cheekiness seldom raise more than a titter. — Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026

The layout spans three levels, so a group of six can spread out without losing that communal, campy energy. — Madeline Weinfield, Architectural Digest, 24 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

camp entry 3 + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above