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 of soap opera

• sludge
• corn

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

Shared soap opera experience wasn't the only thing Vergara had in common with former Days of Our Lives actress and current Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause. —Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025

Just three days after wrapping up filming the soap opera in June, Rogers jumped right into treatment. —Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

Margaret DePriest, a onetime actress who spent three decades as a pioneering head writer on such soap operas as General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, All My Children and Another World, has died. —Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025

Moving on, however, becomes a problem when a mysterious unseen force traps and forces them to relive past traumas together in this supernatural soap opera. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 24 Oct. 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