as in cornball
tiresomely obvious and unsophisticated
their father's sense of humor was hokey beyond belief and most people's endurance
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Recent Examples of hokey
So, what was the key to it not being hokey?
—
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2025
These days, Christmas movies, broadly and charitably defined, seem to be synonymous with the brassy, hokey, sickly sweet sort of fare that has a permanent home on the Hallmark Channel and is in perpetual rotation on Netflix.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Flanagan's film leans into some of the hokey aspects of the story that Kubrick rejected in favor of a much colder sort of horror.
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Surrounded by a bunch of big, hokey hooks from veterans and newcomers of the pop-country elite—Daris Rucker, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett—and an army of songwriters, BigX goes through the ups and downs of a broken heart.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokey
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2025
These days, Christmas movies, broadly and charitably defined, seem to be synonymous with the brassy, hokey, sickly sweet sort of fare that has a permanent home on the Hallmark Channel and is in perpetual rotation on Netflix.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Flanagan's film leans into some of the hokey aspects of the story that Kubrick rejected in favor of a much colder sort of horror.
—James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Surrounded by a bunch of big, hokey hooks from veterans and newcomers of the pop-country elite—Daris Rucker, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett—and an army of songwriters, BigX goes through the ups and downs of a broken heart.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hokey
Adjective
-
Davis and Head make strong impressions, masking the pedestrian, sometimes cornball dialogue.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
With a wry chuckle, McCartney chalks up these cornball elements of his TV specials and other outings to the perils of being surrounded by yes people.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Cut into individual pieces or break into rustic shards.—
Marianne Williams,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The main living room is a more formal space, crowned by a soaring tray ceiling, while the family room—paneled in pecky cypress—offers a slightly more rustic feel.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The correlation between the songs and Jim’s life may be corny, but the film clearly presents Morrison’s life as a search for these songs.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Foligno always skirted the line between earnest and corny, but nobody ever doubted his sincerity.—
Scott Powers,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Never underestimate a corn-fed basic from Hockeytown.—
Meredith Blake,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Hokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hokey. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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