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

The impossible-to-murder pair chase each other with a machete, shotgun, and chainsaw throughout the fantastically campy film, which pays homage to the classics like Death Becomes Her. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026

As Kris attempts to crack the origin story of Camp Miasma, the two embark on gory, sexy and campy romp in the woods. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026

That misconceived rogue-robot sequel to the campy 2022 treat diluted the original’s cheeky horror comedy by overloading on messy espionage elements. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026

Gucci’s Qixi campaign was inspired by the campy theatricality of online microdramas, now a billion-dollar business. — Denni Hu, Footwear News, 28 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

camp entry 3 + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above