soap opera

noun

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

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

play \ˈsōp-ˌä-pə-ˈra-tik\ adjective

See soap opera defined for English-language learners

See soap opera defined for kids

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 of soap opera from the Web

The 71-year-old soap opera star looked like no time has passed since her days as Erica Kane on All My Children.

— colleen kratofil, PEOPLE.com, "Why Susan Lucci, 71, Wanted to 'Thank' the Paparazzi Who Photographed Her in Her Swimsuit," 12 Apr. 2018
Most of its productions are soap operas with gaudy costumes and maudlin dialogue.

— jonathan kaiman, latimes.com, "China’s largest movie studio is vast, and so is its audience. But filmmakers have to toe the party line," 9 Apr. 2018
Rafael, once a physician, moves into a Catholic retirement community following his wife's death and gains two sidekicks: the former soap opera heartthrob Pablo and the spastic, stridently wacky Anselmo.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "The wall’s gonna fall at the Chicago Latino Film Festival," 5 Apr. 2018
Markle’s life in Baja California is worlds away from Buckingham Palace, and the less formal lifestyle here seems better suited to the 73-year-old former soap opera lighting director.

— sandra dibble, sandiegouniontribune.com, "The father of Prince Harry's future bride leads quiet ex-pat life in Baja," 1 Apr. 2018
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the prototype for every evil soap opera oil baron ever created, learned over Twitter that his services were no longer needed.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "It’s Official: The White House Is a Flaming-Hot Dumpster Fire That Shows No Signs of Cooling Down," 16 Mar. 2018
In Dicochea’s reimagining of the genre, public figures and celebrities from the 20th and 21st centuries such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Fidel Castro, as well as numerous Mexican TV soap opera stars, are the parents and children.

— Washington Post, "Southwest ‘casta’ paintings spotlight race, popular culture," 10 Mar. 2018
The last 18 months in the Czech Republic have resembled a high-octane soap opera with a plot that could easily be dismissed as too fanciful.

— andrew connelly, Newsweek, "The Czech Minister, the Mistress and the Gold Bars," 20 Mar. 2015
In the world of teen soap opera love stories, that’s a genuine step forward — and it was pioneered by Dawson’s Creek.

— constance grady, Vox, "20 years ago, Dawson’s Creek introduced a love triangle that changed teen soaps forever," 28 Mar. 2018

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