as in rustical
tiresomely obvious and unsophisticated
the show's shamelessly cornball jokes appealed to small-town America
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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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
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In first grade, when a teacher called him a hick, Ciotti threw an inkwell at her.—
D. T. Max,
The New Yorker,
23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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The delightful sets, ridiculous scenarios, and hokey alien encounters would’ve been enough to thrill any Trekker, but the performances bring the tribute to the next level.—
Steve Greene,
IndieWire,
12 Apr. 2025
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After the hokey show last year, the Academy this time at least tries to capture the Zen of the movie year.—
Bill Wyman,
Vulture,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Clown Alert This post is a scaredy-cat guide designed mostly for viewers who suffer from flight anxiety, but some people are scared of clowns too.—
Anne Victoria Clark,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
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The teaser does feature a glimpse at Calypso, the man who hosts the tournament, as well as a signature laugh from Sweet Tooth the terrifying clown.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Jacquemus Opens Los Angeles Boutique—Attendees For Opening Include Lori Harvey And Laura Harrier Nestled in the heart of West Hollywood, French fashion house Jacquemus has unveiled its new boutique within a charming rustic home.—
Mecca Pryor,
Essence,
25 Apr. 2025
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This Hinkley design is rustic without feeling dated.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The latest scheme is to create a 2.5% business-to-business tax, a tax hidden in the costs of businesses so that those rubes also known as voters may not notice it.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Mar. 2025
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Walsh’s male fantasists—the nameless rubes of Ballyturk, the desperate suitors of Penelope, even the heartbroken father at the center of Grief Is the Thing With Feathers—get to strut and bluster and scream into the wind.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This could have easily read as corny, had Wright not so expertly filled the frame with such activity beforehand.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
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Shawn reluctantly agrees, but is humiliated when Cory starts acting corny around his friend Gambling Dan (Phil Buckman), and his lackey, Louie (Weiss).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 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 4 May. 2025.
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