soap opera

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: soap opera in a Sentence

Definition of soap opera

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

Truffaut draws out the book’s most surreally boring moments, devoting an entire scene to a hypnotic faux-interactive soap opera about assigning guest bedrooms.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 turns a warning about media into a tirade against tech trends," 19 May 2018
Whatever happens, what was shaping up to be a modern-day fairytale now resembles a real-life soap opera.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "Meghan Markle’s Father Might Not Attend the Royal Wedding—How Did We Get Here?," 14 May 2018
Jacobs said of the made-for-pay-TV athletic soap opera.

— stephen hudak, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orange County pledges $3M to lure Special Olympic, WrestleMania events," 8 May 2018
The next, last season of Game of Thrones will finally offer some sense of closure on the complex fantasy soap opera that has swept the globe.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Today's Best Deals: Keep Cool With $100 Off Frigidaire's Smart Window A/C," 20 Apr. 2018
Lights up on a Damascus apartment in 2014, where four friends are watching a soap opera.

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "Yale Rep Director Evan Yionoulis Says Goodbye With 'Kiss'," 19 Apr. 2018
Pompeo is also the president’s pick to take over the secretary of state position that’s been empty ever since Trump fired soap opera evil oil baron Rex Tillerson.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "Wait, CIA Director Mike Pompeo Met With Kim Jong Un?," 18 Apr. 2018
Lancashire is something of a national treasure herself, having started out playing a lovable blonde barmaid on the long-running northern soap opera Coronation Street.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "Kiri Is a British Import Worth Watching," 12 Apr. 2018
K-pop emerged in South Korea in the early 1990s, and labels such as JYP, DSP and YG, built the nation's pop industry from the ground up by creating training schemes that churned out pop stars for music, soap operas and movies.

— jessie yeung, CNN, "Boy band BTS becomes first K-pop group to top Billboard 200," 28 May 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.