cutesy

Or cute·sie

[kyoot-see]

adjective

Informal.

cutesier, cutesiest 

1. forcedly and consciously cute; coyly mannered.

   cutesy greeting cards, with animals peeking from behind flowers.

cutesy

/ ˈkjuːtsɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  affectedly cute or coy

Other Word Forms

• cutesiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cutesy¹

First recorded in 1910–15; cute + -sy

Example Sentences

But an acquaintance of Mr. Platner told the Jewish Insider news site that the candidate explained the tattoo’s Nazi connection to him “in a cutesy little way” at a Capitol Hill bar in 2012.

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The cutesy performance shtick around a shoestring variety show — imagine Pee-wee’s Playhouse without the bewitching oddity — grows wearying.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It’s a challenge to write from the perspective of a child without being arch or cutesy — stories about kids learning about the real world can degrade to plainspoken YA or cheap melodrama.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Even a tiny robot — DG-33, sort of cutesy spin on a trash compactor — has developed some quirks, namely a sassy Southern accent.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Not that “The Annihilation of Fish” has any patience for the cutesy tendencies that sometimes attend love stories about people with mental health problems.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gooey 
• saccharine 
• sappy 
• sentimental 
• sugary 
• syrupy