soap opera

noun

1

a

: a serial drama performed originally on a daytime radio or television program and chiefly characterized by tangled interpersonal situations and melodramatic or sentimental treatment

b

: a series of real-life events resembling a soap opera

2

: the melodrama and sentimentality characteristic of a soap opera

even cops need a little soap opera in their lives

—Joseph Wambaugh

also : something (such as a novel) having such qualities

soap-operatic

ˈsōp-ˌä-pə-ˈra-tik 

adjective

Synonyms

• corn
• sludge

Examples of soap opera in a Sentence

She loves to watch daytime soap operas.

the movie started out well, but quickly devolved into improbable soap opera

Recent Examples on the Web

Like many disaster movies, this is a turgid soap opera that’s blown apart by chaos. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025

Two years after his death at age 84, the longtime Los Angeles estate of prime-time soap opera writer and producer David Jacobs is now on the market in the Beachwood Canyon neighborhood of Hollywood Hills for just under $6 million after it was initially priced at $7 million. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 19 Sep. 2025

Cranston, 69, also had a special connection to Panettiere's family, having costarred with Hayden's mom, Lesley Vogel, in the soap opera Loving in 1984. —Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025

After graduation, her first onscreen role was in a 1984 episode of the soap opera The Edge of Night. —Nicholas Rice, People.com, 14 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from its sponsorship by soap manufacturers

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

soap opera

noun

: a radio or television drama presented in a series of continuing stories and characters and intended to appeal to the emotions

Etymology

so called because the advertisers on these programs were usually soap manufacturers