hokey

American  

[hoh-kee] / ˈhoʊ ki /

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

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hokey British  

/ ˈhəʊkɪ /

adjective

1. corny; sentimental

2. contrived; phoney

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Other Word Forms

• hokeyness noun
• hokiness noun

Etymology

Origin of hokey

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

Example Sentences

It may be a hokey child’s trophy from a bygone era, like a scout’s badge or sportsmanship ribbon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

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

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

But it was also a little bit hokey.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2024

For those outside the athletic community, it may seem hokey and illusory.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2024

When the hokey pokey is done, I slip out to the back patio to see if Ray is around and if he got anything off Mom’s run-over phone.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko