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
Joseph Wambaugh
also
: something (such as a novel) having such qualities
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
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
All of these have long been part of her life due to her profession, which dates back to her graduating from the Boston University College of Fine Arts in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater and her turns acting on soap operas like The Edge of Night and As the World Turns through the 1980s.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In the United States, the Epstein scandal has devolved into a mere political soap opera, in which the victims are largely forgotten and Trump is so far unscathed.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2025
These series reject the streamer bloat of our last decade and rip through story, embracing the breakneck pacing and dynamic rhythms of soap operas while also plunging into of-the-moment anxiety over backsliding feminist gains and uncertainty about exactly what kind of womanhood is aspirational.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for soap opera
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Nicholas Rice, People.com, 14 Sep. 2025
All of these have long been part of her life due to her profession, which dates back to her graduating from the Boston University College of Fine Arts in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater and her turns acting on soap operas like The Edge of Night and As the World Turns through the 1980s.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In the United States, the Epstein scandal has devolved into a mere political soap opera, in which the victims are largely forgotten and Trump is so far unscathed.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2025
These series reject the streamer bloat of our last decade and rip through story, embracing the breakneck pacing and dynamic rhythms of soap operas while also plunging into of-the-moment anxiety over backsliding feminist gains and uncertainty about exactly what kind of womanhood is aspirational.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for soap opera
Cite this Entry
“Soap opera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soap%20opera. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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