corny
1 Americanadjective
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cornier,
comparative
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corniest
superlative
adjective
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trite or banal
-
sentimental or mawkish
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abounding in corn
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of corny1
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1930–35 corny 1 for def. 2; Middle English; corn 1 + -y 1
Origin of corny2
Explanation
If your Uncle Marvin has a habit of telling corny jokes, they probably make you groan every single time. Corny describes something that's either worn out and tiresome or overly sentimental — and sometimes both. It can be hard to talk about something emotional without becoming corny. Try describing love at first sight without becoming trite or stickily sentimental and you'll know first-hand how easily you can find yourself sounding corny. For years corny simply meant "full of corn," or "tasting of malt." Sometime in the 1930s it became popular slang meaning "appealing to country folk," who were also described at the time as corn-fed, because of their supposed connection to farms.
Vocabulary lists containing corny
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.
See Examples For:
"I think for me those are the sounds of independence... it's also the sound of freedom, without trying to sound all corny."
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
It’s one of the set’s catchiest songs, marred only by a corny spoken-word bit—hopefully, she’ll leave these talky bridges behind on her next collection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
But it makes sense, because hyper-masculinity is unsexy — and advocating for it only reveals just how corny it really is.
From Salon ● May 23, 2026
“Margo’s Got Money Problems” can be terribly sentimental, almost corny — the climax is pure Hollywood — but undeniably effective.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
She was so sweet, but man was she corny!
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
The soup tasted cornier than what you gnaw off the cob, because they roast the cobs to make the stock.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2017
Yet most of the album’s songs have not aged well, especially the ersatz psychedelia of “Tuesday Afternoon,” which felt far cornier than other willfully trippy visions from its era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2017
While “Barbiere” has the more popular name — and the cornier jokes — “I Puritani” is by far the greater opera.
From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2017
In fact, the cornier the quips, the more they seemed to like it.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 6, 2015
Her mom and dad, together and apart, weirdly hovering over her hospital bed like aliens from movies even cornier than teenage family dramas.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
Convery has nicely feathered hair and a character burdened by the plot’s corniest contrivances: a bully stubbornly pursuing him to the literal end of civilization, a lost pet dog that he’s determined to rescue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Paying for a blue check is the corniest thing you can do.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2023
Yet it didn’t, because neither of these teams will relent, will give, will meet the moment with anything but the corniest, most wonderful spit-in-your-eye.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 30, 2017
Even the corniest summer blockbusters now regularly clock in at two-and-a-half hours.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 9, 2017
My mom and dad lived the corniest of love stories, and as 1 got older, it embarrassed me to no end.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
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.
