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
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
For every schlocky, derivative entry, there’s one that endures.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 4 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
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
For every schlocky, derivative entry, there’s one that endures.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 4 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
-
Strained by tighter budgets and product price increases, more shoppers are willing to ditch their favorite brand for a cheaper alternative, a new study finds.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
The simpler, cheaper, more snow-friendly autonomous driving hardware is welcome, too.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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Historically, South America has proven irresistible to certain inhabitants of the northern hemisphere eager to escape the consequences of their terrible actions.—
David Futrelle,
Washington Post,
4 June 2026
-
In retrospect, the Supreme Court decision that opened the widespread legalization of sports betting was a terrible, terrible mistake.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Common travel regrets stem from preventable issues like poor planning, budget problems, and choosing the wrong companions.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
O’Farrell’s inclination for narratives propelled by brutal coincidence and fatally poor timing tenders a Hardy-esque vision of the world, one that emphasizes the rigid, often cruel limits of an individual’s jurisdiction over the course of their life.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
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This has encouraged debates on the extent to which metajournalism is different from—or even inferior to—existing practices of journalism.—
Steve Paulussen,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Anyone on the market for a new house over the past six years has had rotten luck.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
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Advocates say the rotten food and lack of basic medical care is so bad some detainees are even on a hunger strike.—
Nick Caloway,
CBS News,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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But that’s made even worse by the fact that a significant portion of these observational studies did not even have a comparison group.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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The views over the city aren’t bad either.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Schlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlock. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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