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Synonyms

cornball

American  
[kawrn-bawl] / ˈkɔrnˌbɔl /

noun

  1. popcorn rolled into a ball and flavored with molasses or caramel.

  2. Informal.

    1. a person who indulges in clichés or sentimentality.

    2. a country bumpkin; hick.

adjective

  1. Informal. corny.

cornball British  
/ ˈkɔːnˌbɔːl /

noun

  1. a person given to mawkish or unsophisticated behaviour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. another word for corny

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cornball

1835–45, corn 1 + ball 1; cornball defs. 2, 3 influenced by slang sense of corn. Cf. screwball, oddball

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Once I noticed that the supermarket where I shop was churning out generic cornball Walmart country music to a staff that consisted almost entirely of Hispanic women.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025

The video monitors went their own crazy way, whether unmusically flipping from close-ups of fingers and lips or attempting surreal cornball special effects.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2025

This episode’s cornball elements are on full display in its opening scene, as Axe’s forces break up a romance between two aristocratic aliens from different races.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2023

While the attendees' sporadic voiceovers border on cornball platitudes at times, there's no mistaking their pre-concert frenzy as wannabe concertgoers surrender their hopes to the whimsy of dial-up ticket services.

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2021

Some kid giving the camera a thumbs-up like a cornball.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.