cornball
Americannoun
-
popcorn rolled into a ball and flavored with molasses or caramel.
-
Informal.
-
a person who indulges in clichés or sentimentality.
-
a country bumpkin; hick.
-
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cornball
1835–45, corn 1 + ball 1; cornball defs. 2, 3 influenced by slang sense of corn. Cf. screwball, oddball
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 much silence from pop music’s most dramatic main character, biggest cornball and most profligate breadcrumb dropper has rattled the usual channels for all things Swift.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Once I noticed that the supermarket where I shop was churning out generic cornball Walmart country music to a staff that consisted almost entirely of Hispanic women.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
This episode’s cornball elements are on full display in its opening scene, as Axe’s forces break up a romance between two aristocratic aliens from different races.
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2023
The Caldwell piano, so rhythmically straight that it was almost cornball, contrasted with the swing and syncopation of the rhythm track.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2022
Some kid giving the camera a thumbs-up like a cornball.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
