hokey

[ hoh-kee ]

/ ˈhoʊ ki /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hokey ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, hok·i·er, hok·i·est.

overly sentimental; mawkish: Two glasses of wine and he gets unbearably hokey; it's hard to believe he's a highly paid executive!

obviously contrived, especially to win popular appeal or support; phony: The hokey stories of his impoverished childhood always surface at election time.

Nearby words

Origin of hokey

1945–50; irregular hok(um) + -y¹

Related formshok·ey·ness, hok·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hokey

There was the lifeless and hokey Management ($934,000 box office) and Love Happens ($22 million).
Jennifer Aniston’s New Movie Sucks. What’s She Doing Wrong?|Kevin Fallon|August 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She jumped up and down and did the hokey pokey and shouted to the rooftops from it.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s Tearful Last ‘The View,’ and Why We’ll Miss Her|Kevin Fallon|July 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
With their hokey humor and easily solved crises, those shows led straight into the era of Ellen and Will & Grace.
How TV Killed the Republican Party’s Family Values|Jonathan D. Fitzgerald|November 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Commenting on his vanilla—some might even say “hokey”—demeanor, my wife said he reminded her of the father on Leave It to Beaver.
Face It, Republicans, ‘Bazooka Joe’ Biden Won the VP Debate|Matt Latimer|October 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

We used to close our meetings with a hokey phrase: “May the great master of all Scouts be with us till we meet again.”
Take That, Boy Scouts: I’m Rejecting My Eagle Award|Aaron Becker|August 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hokey Pokey stepped lightly forward, and dropped the round loaf down the great red throat.
The Pig Brother and Other Fables and Stories|Laura E. Richards
He better think twicet before he comes bothering around me, by hokey!
The Uphill Climb|B. M. Bower
He had scarcely opened the door when he started back in surprise, exclaiming, "By hokey, if there isn't a basket on the steps!"
Timothy Crump's Ward|Horatio Alger
By the Hokey; if Sally Jones is'nt real grit, there's no snakes.
The Portland Sketch Book|Various
Hokey Pokey took it with many thanks, and then went on his way.
The Pig Brother and Other Fables and Stories|Laura E. Richards

British Dictionary definitions for hokey

hokey

/ (ˈhəʊkɪ) /

adjective slang, mainly US and Canadian

corny; sentimental

contrived; phoney

Word Origin for hokey

C20: from hokum

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

Word Origin and History for hokey