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

The pair had been living part-time during Geary’s later years on the soap opera. —Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025

In the scripted world, Reilly has recurred as a waitress on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful since 2010. —Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025

In the open shaft, the love and resentment in our lives felt like a soap opera staged in public. —Gigi Leung, Time, 20 Dec. 2025

And with microdramas and their fast-paced, high stakes storytelling often compared to soap operas and telenovelas, Nic Westaway, who played Kyle Braxton in 368 episodes of the Australian soap Home and Away, has found virtually non-stop work on microdramas since arriving in Vancouver. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 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