cornball
Americannoun
-
popcorn rolled into a ball and flavored with molasses or caramel.
-
Informal.
-
a person who indulges in clichés or sentimentality.
-
a country bumpkin; hick.
-
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cornball
1835–45, corn 1 + ball 1; cornball defs. 2, 3 influenced by slang sense of corn. 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
It’s in the series’ DNA to be a little cornball, and that there’s nothing overtly fancy or stylish in the production reflects the sort of nonliterary literature from which it springs.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 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
“I want to make the whole country feel as if we are one. I may be a cornball, but I am me — not a sophisticated, slick New York wazoo act.”
From Seattle Times • Sep. 4, 2021
But if I had a girl like Kim, I'd probably be acting like a cornball too.
From "When I Was the Greatest" 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.
