hammy

adjective ham·my \ ˈha-mē \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Examples: hammy in a Sentence

Definition of hammy

hammier; hammiest

: marked by exaggerated and usually self-conscious theatricality

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hammily

play \ˈha-mə-lē\ adverb

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hamminess

play \ˈha-mē-nəs\ noun

Examples of hammy in a Sentence

a hammy singer whose overwrought renditions of love songs just beg listeners to cry

Recent Examples of hammy from the Web

The adaptation of one of the weirder Marvel brands did everything wrong, from its garish costumes to its hammy dialogue to its terrible special effects.

— kelly lawler, USA TODAY, "11 Marvel TV shows, definitively ranked (including 'Cloak and Dagger')," 11 June 2018
The rest is covered by convincing if somewhat hammy digital effects work, and on scenes set months earlier, on Tahiti, from the couple’s recent past.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "'Adrift' review: Trouble off Tahiti with Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin and a hurricane," 31 May 2018
Rhett himself is a fine showman, adept at engaging a crowd without going too hammy.

— joey guerra, Houston Chronicle, "Thomas Rhett brings a pop of country to RodeoHouston," 7 Mar. 2018
Playing the actor-villain Phoenix Buchanan, Hugh Grant gives a marvelously hammy performance that reminded me of Ronald Colman in George Cukor’s A Double Life (1947).

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Animals / Film In praise of the acting in Paddington 2," 31 Jan. 2018
Wright’s restlessness can be off-putting, but his technique feels like a reasonable match here for the high-stakes subject matter, and the heightened (but not hammy) pitch of the performances.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'Darkest Hour': Gary Oldman's unexpectedly bright and buoyant profile of Winston Churchill," 13 Dec. 2017
Translucent slices of delicately hammy Italian prosciutto or Spanish jamón serrano traditionally fill this space on the charcuterie board.

— kyle frischkorn, GQ, "A Big Charcuterie Plate Is the Best Thing to Bring to Any Holiday Party," 23 Dec. 2017
What makes The Twilight Zone so rich, and so necessary, isn’t its hammy narration or its uncanny visuals.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "Reimagining The Twilight Zone for the 21st Century," 20 Dec. 2017
By reminding the audience that King’s Landing and Dragonstone are actually very close together, Game of Thrones actually tells us a lot without resorting to a bunch of hammy exposition.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Game of Thrones," 14 Aug. 2017

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