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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schlock
Adjective
  • The new buildings also provided cheaper housing options for Caracas workers who couldn’t afford to live in the city.
    Syra Ortiz-Blanes, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
  • The Steamfitters were staging protests outside the Pfizer site, accusing the MetroLoft — which employs a mix of union and nonunion contractors — of building on the cheap and tolerating unsafe work conditions.
    Andrew Rice, Curbed, 23 July 2026
Adjective
  • Why do some people stay in terrible, horrible, no good, very bad jobs?
    Joseph Kim, NPR, 22 July 2026
  • Three years ago, Victor Wembanyama was terrible, and Houston’s Cam Whitmore won Summer MVP.
    John Hollinger, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Adjective
  • Headline figures such as tasks completed, queries handled or hours saved can look impressive while concealing errors, rework, poor customer outcomes and escalating operating expenses.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Habits like poor sleep, heavy drinking and smoking often make things worse, and work pressure, financial strain and caring for aging parents can compound the effects.
    Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026
Adjective
  • The game is far worse and inferior when a team is down to 10.
    The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • There was a time when Irish, Italians, Jews and Chinese who came here were viewed as inferior.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 2026
Adjective
  • The rotten culture that is seeping ever deeper into football was exemplified by the announcement that one of the game’s most successful referees had retired.
    Graham Scott, New York Times, 23 July 2026
  • Eventually, the plant can’t absorb enough water through its rotten roots to survive.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 July 2026
Adjective
  • The situation is particularly bad in France, which has already recorded more than 300 wildfires this year, compared to an annual average of 93, according to the EFFIS.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
  • Anderson’s injury record is slightly worse by virtue of a stress fracture in his back that kept him out for four months in the middle of the 2023-24 season, but over the two subsequent campaigns both have been near-constantly available.
    Cerys Jones, New York Times, 24 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Schlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlock. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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