hokey

adjective hok·ey \ ˈhō-kē \

Definition of hokey

hokier; hokiest

1 :¹corny 3

the usual hokey melodrama

2 :obviously contrived :phony

the plots are tricky but not hokey
—Cleveland Amory

—

hokeyness

or hokiness play \ˈhō-kē-nəs\ noun

—

hokily

play \ˈhō-kə-lē\ adverb

See hokey defined for English-language learners

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 of hokey from the Web

Nobody seems to think the interruption is hokey or contrived.

— doug struck, The Christian Science Monitor, "A county fair offers pie – and a window on the rural-urban divide," 25 Aug. 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Songs about America can often be hokey and over the top.

— cleveland.com, "20 greatest songs about America," 4 July 2017
When HarperTeen reissued the books in 2012 in two new omnibus editions (and commissioned three more, penned by a ghostwriter), the delightfully hokey nineties covers were replaced by ones that blandly evoke the films made from Meyers' book.

— julia felsenthal, Vogue, "Before There Was Twilight, Harry Potter, and Goop-Approved Crystals, There Was The Secret Circle," 19 June 2017
This slogan, however, as experienced by bankers on the ground such as Hambek, was more hard-core than hokey.

— bethany mclean, The Hive, "How Wells Fargo’s Cutthroat Corporate Culture Allegedly Drove Bankers to Fraud," 19 June 2017
Ruth conks out, but, as Judy Garland sings, Bernie experiences a hokey series of hallucinations.

— hank stuever, chicagotribune.com, "HBO invests in its own cinematic take on Bernie Madoff, but it still doesn't pay off," 19 May 2017
No, the bands don’t play any hokey concessions theme songs or act out the trailers for coming attractions.

— dylan owens, The Know, "Film on the Rocks’ 2017 music lineup includes a huge Grateful Dead tribute show," 1 May 2017
Hawley finds contemporary ways to explore ancient, potentially hokey ideas, particularly the notion that sanity and madness are not that far apart.

— emily nussbaum, The New Yorker, "The Absorbing Nightmare of “Legion”," 13 Feb. 2017
Sounds hokey, doesn’t it, like 3-D glasses or one of those gimmicks that the moviemaker William Castle touted in the 1950s, using names like Percepto and Illusion-O. The earphones you’ve been issued don’t even look particularly sophisticated.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "Excerpt: ‘The Encounter’," 29 Sep. 2016

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

First Known Use of hokey

1927

hokey Synonyms

Synonyms

cornball, corn-fed, cornpone, corny

Related Words

countrified (also countryfied), down-home, folksy, rustic (also rustical); hick, hickish

Near Antonyms

cosmopolitan, smart, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise; hip, trendy, with-it

HOKEY Defined for English Language Learners

hokey

adjective

Definition of hokey for English Language Learners

: obviously fake
: very silly, old-fashioned, or sentimental

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hokey

Definition of hokey

hokeyness

hokily

Examples of hokey in a Sentence

Recent Examples of hokey from the Web

First Known Use of hokey

hokey Synonyms

Synonyms

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HOKEY Defined for English Language Learners

hokey

Definition of hokey for English Language Learners

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hokey

Definition of hokey

hokeyness

hokily

From the M-W Editors

Examples of hokey in a Sentence

Recent Examples of hokey from the Web

First Known Use of hokey

hokey Synonyms

Synonyms

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HOKEY Defined for English Language Learners

hokey

Definition of hokey for English Language Learners

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