variants
or schlocky
also shlock
or shlocky
as in cheap
of low quality
a tourist trap selling schlock souvenirs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of schlock
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
Deliberately schlocky and over-the-top, the production is a mere backdrop for the psychodrama happening off set between Elle and her costar Dominique (Havana Rose Liu), a girl her own age who’s also unfortunately her stepmother.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 19 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
The film finally returns to Dracula’s castle, where four stone gargoyles come to life, and where there is bad swordplay, schlocky cannon fire, and a fortune-cookie theological lecture from Waltz’s Priest.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Feb. 2026
In one of the most heartwarming sequences a flashback shows these young film buffs shooting one of their shlocky Big Foot-esque monster movies.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025
For one thing, it was produced for half a million dollars, resulting a charmingly schlocky and handmade product that greatly appealed to kids hoping to get into the business one day.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
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
Deliberately schlocky and over-the-top, the production is a mere backdrop for the psychodrama happening off set between Elle and her costar Dominique (Havana Rose Liu), a girl her own age who’s also unfortunately her stepmother.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 19 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
The film finally returns to Dracula’s castle, where four stone gargoyles come to life, and where there is bad swordplay, schlocky cannon fire, and a fortune-cookie theological lecture from Waltz’s Priest.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Feb. 2026
In one of the most heartwarming sequences a flashback shows these young film buffs shooting one of their shlocky Big Foot-esque monster movies.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025
For one thing, it was produced for half a million dollars, resulting a charmingly schlocky and handmade product that greatly appealed to kids hoping to get into the business one day.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schlock
Adjective
-
This momentum reflects rapid advances in both AI and hardware over the past two years, driven by better models and cheaper components.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Dec. 2025
-
More people appear to be walking away from Affordable Care Act coverage or switching to cheaper plans for 2026 compared to this time last year, according to early enrollment data from several states.—
Berkeley Lovelace Jr,
NBC news,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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In 2012, a powerful quake visited terrible damage on the city of Modena, Bottura’s home and host to his restaurant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
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The letter writer’s cousin has cancer, and the chemo gives her terrible side effects.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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If poor flowering persists year after year, consider planting a different variety of tomatoes that better suits your climate.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
-
The only question now is how much of the public's time and money the Mayor is willing to waste to obscure the numerous poor decisions her administration and the County have made for decades.—
Manuel Bojorquez,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Consumers previously wrote off Chinese goods as inferior, as Chinese manufacturers prioritized quick market entry over original designs.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
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Learning how to be the favorite, who plays under the pressure of expectation, instead of how to be the underdog, who plays with the freedom of the unexpected, can make plenty of players vulnerable against an inferior foe at the business end of a tournament.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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The gas Citizens Energy serves customers, typically methane, is naturally odorless so the company adds mercaptan, which smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, to serve as a sentinel in case there's a gas leak.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
10 Dec. 2025
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Filming Will Smith's TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was admittedly a bit of a rotten experience for '90s fitness legend and Stop the Insanity!—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The Canadian Whale Institute said Friday that efforts to find the whale have been unsuccessful and the search has been hampered by bad weather.—
Neal Riley,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
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This is for the fans who endured the three-worst seasons in Knicks history all inside of a five-year span.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Schlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlock. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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