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

That is entirely the point, and the contrast with the luxurious new environment only adds to the campy aspect of the entire production. —Christian Lewis, Variety, 12 July 2024

Mel Brooks' take on Robin Hood came two years after Prince of Thieves and parodied that film in particular, packing the legend full of anachronistic meta-references, campy musical numbers, and the filmmaker's trademark crude humor. —EW.com, 9 July 2024

Chappell’s music translates incredibly well in live settings and her aesthetic truly crystallizes during her campy live performances. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 18 June 2024

Straddling the line between corny and campy, this tribute to a woman from Atlanta falls flat on its face. —Dylan Green, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above