campy

adjective \ ˈkam-pē \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of campy

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

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campily

play \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

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campiness

play \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

Recent Examples of campy from the Web

Because some viewers would expect at least more links to the classic 1965 show of the same name than merely borrowing the basic setup and leaving the campy fun of the original on the shelf.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Danger, Will Robinson’: Remake gets ‘Lost’," 9 Apr. 2018
Considerably slicker than the campy Irwin Allen original from the ’60s — what would Allen have done with Netflix money?

— ellen gray, Philly.com, "TV picks: New takes on 'Howards End' and 'Lost in Space,' plus fresh 'Bosch,' 'Killing Eve' and 'New Girl'," 5 Apr. 2018
There’s a lot of potential in this show, and Netflix has done an admirable job of updating a campy series for a modern audience.

— andrew liptak, The Verge, "Netflix’s Lost in Space undermines a strong premise with dumb characters," 3 Apr. 2018
Expect beautiful visuals and childlike wonder in place of the earlier series’ campy feel.

— noor brara, Vogue, "Here's What to Stream on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon in April," 2 Apr. 2018
That's Tabula Rasa's biggest reveal of all: This show is a little campy.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Let's Talk About The Nutty, Devastating Ending Of Netflix's Tabula Rasa," 26 Mar. 2018
Hot Pink, or Ready to Blow combines the campy fun of 80s high school comedies and the joy of copious amounts of lava.

— rachel yang, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Do This A spoof of 80s teen movies and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week," 26 Mar. 2018
The surrounding players are exaggerated, one-note caricatures; Barrie’s wife is a superficial shrew, her lover is a fop, the grandmother is stern and matronly, the promoter has a perpetual glint in his eye and the actors are campy.

— mike fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Circus scene is the highlight of a bland 'Neverland'," 21 Feb. 2018
To have preserved the film’s melodramatic plot and much of its campy dialogue while shaving off 45 minutes is a kind of accomplishment.

— brian seibert, New York Times, "Review: The Bitter Tears of Dean Moss & Co.," 24 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'campy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.