hokier; hokiest
1
: corny entry 1 sense 1
the usual hokey melodrama
2
: obviously contrived : phony
the plots are tricky but not hokey—
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland AmoryExamples of hokey in a Sentence
She gave us some hokey excuse for being late.
their father's sense of humor was hokey beyond belief and most people's endurance
Recent Examples on the Web
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
The actual reveal was hokey and preposterous.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokey
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.
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
The actual reveal was hokey and preposterous.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokey
Cite this Entry
“Hokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hokey. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share