hokey

[hoh-kee]

adjective

hokier, hokiest 

1. overly sentimental; mawkish.

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

   Synonyms: mushy, goopy, cloying, melodramatic, maudlin, corny

2. obviously contrived, especially to win popular appeal or support; phony.

   The hokey stories of his impoverished childhood always surface at election time.

   Synonyms: spurious, sham, counterfeit, artificial, false, fake

hokey

/ ˈhəʊkɪ /

adjective

1. corny; sentimental

2. contrived; phoney

Other Word Forms

• hokeyness noun
• hokiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hokey¹

First recorded in 1945–50; hok(um) + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hokey¹

C20: from _hokum

Example Sentences

By the end of the week the bond markets were more than nervous as a result of the hokey cokey over income tax.

Read more on BBC

What a nasty slider that was, delivered in a hokey, aw-shucks manner by a Federalist Society–approved conservative ideologue.

Read more on Salon

“This idea of truth, justice and the American way was deemed, even back then, hokey,” Schumer said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Government cuts could also contribute to such a reading, but private sector sentiment has taken a hit too, especially by the hokey cokey over tariffs.

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What doesn’t is the hokey scene set in a Homegoods store where apparently small children with big designer dreams practice elaborate tablescaping.

Read more on Los Angeles Times