hokey
adjective
overly sentimental; mawkish.
hokiness
-
a word derived from
hokey.
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.
This week we go full “hoke,” in a piece about a little bit of hokiness that, 50 years ago, America saw right through and embraced to its deepest heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
The direction of Michael Greif and Schele Williams valiantly tries to contain the material’s hokiness without undercutting the wishfulness that lies at the heart of the story’s broad emotional appeal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
Even the look of the letters—deliberately plain to the point of hokiness, with old-school fonts and layout hardly changed in fifty years—is didactic.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 29, 2016
I found this whole sequence thrilling, notwithstanding the hokiness of the time-lapse idea itself.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2012
The singers perfectly rendered the line “I sing because I’m happy” without hokiness, and — equally infectious — they seemed happy throughout their lovely set because they were singing: sheer joy for the listener.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2010
