as in hokey
tiresomely obvious and unsophisticated
the show's shamelessly cornball jokes appealed to small-town America
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in hick
an awkward or simple person especially from a small town or the country
a movie about a cornball making his way through a world of cynical sophisticates
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of cornball
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
Another scream for this bad, unabashedly cornball line.
—Evan Minsker, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2024
Jenna West, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
These realist inflections belie a charmingly cornball story.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for cornball
Adjective
There’s a fair share of cornball dialogue in Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz’s screenplay, as well as an excess of reassuring schmaltz at the fadeout.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
Another scream for this bad, unabashedly cornball line.
—Evan Minsker, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2024
Noun
Trolling you cornballs for rooting against us is apart of the game.
—Jenna West, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
These realist inflections belie a charmingly cornball story.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for cornball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cornball
Adjective
-
Sixteen-year-old Mary is surrounded by the Silver Star Rangers — an all-male quintet decked out in hokey western shirts, neckerchiefs and cowboy hats.—
John Ficarra,
Washington Post,
8 May 2026
-
Once tourist fodder, the musical has remained a byword for hokey commercialism.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
When Johnson was vice president and visiting Europe, there were reports filed by these British ambassadors in several countries that basically made fun of him as a hick.—
Wendy Naugle,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
-
So a bunch of hicks from Topeka were left up to our own devices of going down to Robert Hall and finding something that might be kind of cool.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Marettimo The most remote of the Egadi Islands, tiny Marettimo—accessible via ferry from Trapani—remains delightfully rustic thanks to its limited accessibility, near absence of cars, and lack of large hotels.—
Nicky Swallow,
Travel + Leisure,
17 May 2026
-
This cliffside property tucked away on Cornwall’s north coast eschews rustic seaside themes for a more urbane design and quirky Ayurvedic spa.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
In the end, Bill Skarsgård returned as the horrifying clown Pennywise, which was always the plan from the start.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
11 May 2026
-
Even a rival gave kudos — kind of — to the clown.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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The first camp thinks Slayr is just corny, contrasting the aggro music with his lowkey presentation and love of anime.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2026
-
Not to be overly corny in my delivery, but these sheets are actually cool.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All those unsuspecting rubes with no idea what’s about to hit them.—
Joe Hagan,
Vanity Fair,
18 Mar. 2026
-
And yet, to holier-than-thou doctors like young Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson), Howard is a cautionary tale: a glutton who can’t control himself, a rube who hasn’t heard of Ozempic, and a lazy slouch who can’t manage to drag himself to aqua aerobics.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Growing up in Brookville, OH, my family would call this kid corn-fed.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
The Lycra Company has corn-fed stretch.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Using his Hollywood makeup father’s prosthetics, Holliday transforms himself into hayseed-like Chad Powers.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
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Baby Billy’s first full-frontal scene is more a testament to Walton Goggins’s incredible hayseed bravado in the rule.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cornball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cornball. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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