variants or schlocky also shlock or shlocky
Definition of schlocknext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of schlock The film is as over-the-top and schlocky as a lucha libre match and serves as a time capsule for 1970s style. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 Besson oversees another schlocky genre flick with a few bravura fight scenes but not much else going for it. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 And talk about schlock, surely there was something if not exactly schlocky then definitely sensationalist about Marcia’s way of eviscerating an artist or an event. — Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026 Bosses recently told Deadline that microdrama has moved well beyond cheap, schlocky imitations of traditional TV and film. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 July 2026 Well, people have always written schlocky or formulaic books. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 10 June 2026 Yet despite their cultural staying power, power ballads have historically received little scholarly attention, in part because they are often dismissed as schlocky and banal. — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 22 May 2026 Quentin Tarantino’s outrageous revisionist Western is wildly over-the-top, combining the director’s penchant for gratuitous violence and sparkling dialogue with a story that’s pleasingly labyrinthine but nothing if not schlocky. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026 But that shift is still recent, and decades of cultural baggage — from sexist slasher stereotypes to schlocky late-night programming — continue to shape perception. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schlock
Adjective
  • The experience highlighted a central problem in warship procurement; selecting an existing design does not necessarily guarantee faster or cheaper construction if the customer substantially changes its architecture.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The commercial space industry looked forward to abundant, cheap launches.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • His teams are terrible just before halftime, having been outscored 107-6 in the coach's 24 games.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • If the purpose of buying a suit were merely obtaining clothing, three fittings would be terrible service.
    — Anna van Praagh, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Disease that has spread to those organs is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • They were frustrated with teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools, including overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.
    — James Cirrone , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The idea is to sound like an inferior buck in the brush, one that is roaming around a mature deer’s space and getting on his nerves.
    — Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Only 272 yards, at home, against a UCLA team that unquestionably has inferior talent?
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Since January 2023, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has received more than 28,000 complaints, many of which describe the foul smell as rotten, putrid and stomach-churning.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Zhang and his colleagues theorize that this reaction might help plants avoid pathogens, similar to the way unpleasant smells help animals steer clear of rotten food.
    — Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The album’s experimental bent is also what keeps the music from slipping into parody or, even worse, po-faced sincerity.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Judges failing to award fees and government agencies unreasonably resisting paying them make the problem even worse.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Schlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlock. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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