sappy
Americanadjective
-
abounding in sap, as a plant.
-
full of vitality and energy.
-
Slang. silly or foolish.
-
Slang. overly sentimental.
It’s one of those sappy romantic ballads.
adjective
-
(of plants) full of sap
-
full of energy or vitality
-
slang silly or fatuous
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sappy
First recorded before 1100; Middle English sapy, Old English sæpig; see sap 1, -y 1
Explanation
Something sappy lacks substance. It's silly, foolish, and overly sentimental. Have you ever heard someone refer to a sappy song? That's not a compliment, because anything sappy is considered cheesy, saccharine, clichéd, ludicrous, or goofy. Serious or excellent art would never be called sappy. Greeting cards are often sappy, as is someone saying "I wuv you" to his dog. In the 1550s, sappy meant "full of vitality," but by the end of the 1600s its meaning changed to "foolishly sentimental," possibly influenced by the stickiness of sap.
Vocabulary lists containing sappy
Sickly Sweet Treats: Sappy and Insincere Valentine Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Fast Pitch
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Words to Describe a Movie
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Even the most sappy, predictable Christmas movies have an emotional tether.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
He suggested the central pair's friendship "rings false", adding: "What should be piercing, impassioned moments are by turns frivolous and sappy."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
When James Blunt released “You’re Beautiful” in 2005, it quickly climbed the charts around the world, hailed as a bittersweet love song perfect for weddings, first dances, and sappy rom-com montages.
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
It’s only when Clement brings his flair that this film has anything worth paying attention to, because he’s the dash of acid that offsets this otherwise totally saccharine and sappy story about embracing imagination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2024
"Why? You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?"
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
In the sappier one, Chávez’s face is inside a sun, like the baby in “Teletubbies,” hanging over a boy and girl in graduation gowns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
But fear not – there's enough acknowledgement of corruption and malice to add a balancing menace to those sappier aspects.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2022
That meant we would go on to endure months of “Farewell Season” commercials, arguably sappier than those goodbye montages that aired after each contestant was eliminated.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2018
The book, exclusively excerpted in , reveals a sappier side of the late-night icon.
From Time ● Oct. 8, 2013
Demby: The last few minutes of this show, including Jeff's phone call to his father, felt like something from a much sappier show.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2013
And in the sappiest, cheesiest way, I believe this is how love stories work.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2024
We can still fight back, and the revolution starts here with our takedown of the eight sickest, sappiest, all-around worst holiday commercials of 2019.
From Golf Digest ● Dec. 5, 2019
Grab some Kleenex and Ben and Jerry's, put on your sappiest playlist, and reminisce on all the celebrity couples who called it quits this year.
From Fox News ● Dec. 31, 2018
In the graphic at the top of the page, you’ll find the sappiest utterance of the Olympics to date, along with cumulative sap totals for the games thus far.
From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2016
He’d seen plenty of polar bear cubs from inside his parents’ tundra buggy, but never one this close-up, and suddenly he was cooing like the sappiest tourist.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
