as in rustical
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
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Recent Examples of cornball
A.a. Dowd, Chron, 7 Feb. 2023
Seemingly the only non-conservative included in the bit was Shri Thanedar, a Democrat and state representative from Michigan, who appeared in a cornball commercial featuring people demonstrating mind-bendingly bad acting.
—oregonlive, 15 Sep. 2022
Denise Martin, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
Ivan Reitman’s family comedy is nothing if not cornball.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cornball
Adjective
Soderbergh keeps cutting around the cornball potential of the material.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 7 Feb. 2023
Seemingly the only non-conservative included in the bit was Shri Thanedar, a Democrat and state representative from Michigan, who appeared in a cornball commercial featuring people demonstrating mind-bendingly bad acting.
—oregonlive, 15 Sep. 2022
Noun
What if there’s a fry-at-home thing to make these cornballs with that you would get horribly burnt on?
—Denise Martin, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
Ivan Reitman’s family comedy is nothing if not cornball.
—EW.com, 2 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cornball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cornball
Noun
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Without so many of the fears, complexes, and prejudices hick shaped us in the ‘90s and the ‘00s.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
20 June 2025
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Sorrentino may also be exorcising some conflicting feelings about his birthplace, which is portrayed as a vulgar, crude place populated by crooks and hicks and photographed like its paradise.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In a less convincing performance, Guth’s goth staging might quickly start to look hokey.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2025
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Mina-Rau, with its floating silos and sweeping fields, just feels much more lived-in and realistic than Snyder’s hokey Veldt.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Also, this was not a good week for billionaires as a socialist Muslim won a long-shot victory in the NYC Democratic primary, partly on the promise to raise taxes among the highest income earners, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos starred in a clown show wedding in Venice.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
28 June 2025
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Ayanna Pressley, another blow-in-drifter (from Chicago), pole vaulted from the City Council clown show to the U.S. House.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Director Giovanna Sardelli is a terrific storyteller, and in this case, her artistry works hand-to-glove with Nina Ball’s beautifully rustic scenic design.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
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Much of the charm of Silverado Resort has always depended on its unvarnished rustic setting amid the 1200 acres of rolling hills and towering oaks that give the golf courses their traditional parkland character.—
David Weiss,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
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There was no quintessential American, so Twain imagined him: a wily rube, cynical toward the same refinements of Europe that inspired awe in him.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
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The rubes in the trad lobby have been snookered—though their final betrayal is yet to come.—
Ian Volner,
Artforum,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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Nintendo's other first-party launch title, the $10 Switch 2 Welcome Tour, is a tedious affair that offers a few diverting minigames amid dull slideshows and quizzes full of corny PR speak.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2025
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That episode meant a lot to me because of the romance. 4 Collaboration is key This is going to sound corny maybe, but Tropper is so feminist in his approach on set.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
13 June 2025
Noun
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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
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Mantle was the voluble hayseed from Oklahoma who could hit anything but was corrupted by the big city, and wound up undone by alcohol and knee injuries.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
21 June 2024
Adjective
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Cattle—even corn-fed ones—tend to spend much of their life on pasture eating grass, which leads to a lot of methane burps, but growing that grass is not carbon intensive.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
8 Jan. 2025
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Never underestimate a corn-fed basic from Hockeytown.—
Meredith Blake,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Cornball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cornball. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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