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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.

Davis and Head make strong impressions, masking the pedestrian, sometimes cornball dialogue.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

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

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

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.