hokey

adjective

hok·​ey ˈhō-kē 

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

hokeyness noun

or hokiness

ˈhō-kē-nəs 

hokily

ˈhō-kə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• rustical
• cornball
• rustic
• corny

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

War Horse Year: 2011 Runtime: 2h 26m Easily mocked — most notably in a clever Saturday Night Live sketch — this film is hokey and overly earnest yet still pretty much works, thanks to a committed British cast and Spielberg’s dogged mythmaking. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025

Composer Ludwig Göransson’s Delta blues score is hokey, with the soul of spending a day at a living history reenactment. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 25 Apr. 2025

In a less convincing performance, Guth’s goth staging might quickly start to look hokey. —Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2025

Mina-Rau, with its floating silos and sweeping fields, just feels much more lived-in and realistic than Snyder’s hokey Veldt. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hokey

• cloche
• gnocchi
• loci
• pokey
• smokey
• smoky
• karaoke