hokier; hokiest
1
: corny entry 1 sense 1
the usual hokey melodrama
2
: obviously contrived : phony
the plots are tricky but not hokey—
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory
Examples of hokey in a Sentence
She gave us some hokey excuse for being late.
their father's sense of humor was hokey beyond belief and most people's endurance
Recent Examples on the Web
The story lacked depth, the thinking went; the actors were too young and the sets and costumes too hokey.
—Zachary Pincus-Roth, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
Still, in its own hokey way, KVN could be fun to watch.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
The act of granting clemency to a turkey, perhaps America’s most hokey modern presidential tradition, was stuffed with the usual bad jokes and puns.
—Lisa Friedman, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
The movement is overextended — shorter would be less hokey — but not ineffective.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
That sincerity might seem hokey in a cynical age, but that innocence has pride of place, especially at Christmas.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Nov. 2023
The devices of moviemaking are so much better equipped to awaken nightmares that theater’s efforts to make the skin crawl seem hokey by comparison.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 June 2023
Trending Videos While some haunted houses may seem a little hokey — filled with actors dressed as ghouls, goblins, and mad scientists — there are many places around the world with a reputation for being truly haunted.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 13 Aug. 2023
Racked with hokey voices, and novelty shop side-showery (plus a manic, crowded mix job), the cheese of Gospel Rap hasn’t aged well, though The Rap-Sures did indeed break new ground.
—Jonathan Rowe, Spin, 24 Aug. 2023
Zachary Pincus-Roth, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
Still, in its own hokey way, KVN could be fun to watch.
—Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024
The act of granting clemency to a turkey, perhaps America’s most hokey modern presidential tradition, was stuffed with the usual bad jokes and puns.
—Lisa Friedman, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
The movement is overextended — shorter would be less hokey — but not ineffective.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
That sincerity might seem hokey in a cynical age, but that innocence has pride of place, especially at Christmas.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Nov. 2023
The devices of moviemaking are so much better equipped to awaken nightmares that theater’s efforts to make the skin crawl seem hokey by comparison.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 June 2023
Trending Videos While some haunted houses may seem a little hokey — filled with actors dressed as ghouls, goblins, and mad scientists — there are many places around the world with a reputation for being truly haunted.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 13 Aug. 2023
Racked with hokey voices, and novelty shop side-showery (plus a manic, crowded mix job), the cheese of Gospel Rap hasn’t aged well, though The Rap-Sures did indeed break new ground.
—Jonathan Rowe, Spin, 24 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hokey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hokey
Cite this Entry
“Hokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hokey. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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