corny

corny — adjective

1. describes a joke, story, film, song, or remark that was perhaps amusing or touch

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a joke, story, film, song, or remark that was perhaps amusing or touching when first used but now feels boring or forced because it has been repeated too often or relies too heavily on obvious sentiment.

Example

Meera told a corny joke about a chicken, and nobody in the room laughed.

corny + joke — typical collocation for unoriginal humour

The film's ending was too corny — a slow-motion hug with soft music in the background.

corny ending — describes predictable sentimental scenes in films

Common collocations
  • corny joke
  • corny movie / film
  • corny song
  • corny ending
  • corny line / pick-up line
  • corny story
  • corny speech
  • corny poem
  • corny greeting card
  • corny lyrics
Synonyms
  • cheesy

    More about poor quality or over-the-top effect than about being overused; often used for special effects, music, or design.

  • hackneyed

    More formal; emphasises that an idea or phrase has been used so many times it has lost all meaning.

  • trite

    Formal register; focuses on the lack of originality in ideas or remarks.

  • stale

    Emphasises that something once fresh has gone flat through repetition; can be used for news, jokes, or relationships.

Antonyms
  • original

    New and interesting; the opposite of lacking new ideas.

  • fresh

    Not previously used or heard; feels new and engaging.

  • clever

    Shows intelligence and wit; the opposite of a corny joke.

Grammar Patterns

corny + noun

be / seem / feel + corny

Usage Note

Typically used to describe cultural products (jokes, films, songs, stories, lines, speeches, poems). The tone is critical but can be affectionate when describing something familiar and loved despite being unoriginal. Avoid in formal or academic writing.

Common Mistakes

The speech was very corny, said the professor in her academic review.
The speech felt corny and out of place at the formal ceremony.
'corny' is informal and sits awkwardly in a formal register.
This dish tastes corny.
This dish tastes like corn.
'corny' does not mean 'tasting of corn' (the grain). That sense exists only in highly specialised technical use and is not relevant to learners.

Word family

  • corniness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something that has lost its appeal, but they emphasise different flaws. Cheesy focuses on cheap, exaggerated effect — think a dramatic slow-motion scene in a low-budget film. Hackneyed is more formal and intellectual: a hackneyed plot twist is one every reader can predict. Trite is the most formal of the group and carries a dismissive tone — a trite observation adds nothing new to a conversation. Stale is broader: a stale joke, a stale relationship, stale bread — anything that was once fresh. Corny sits between cheesy and hackneyed: it covers both the sentimental overreach (cheesy) and the tired overuse (hackneyed). For example, a valentine's card that reads 'Roses are red, violets are blue' would be called corny — it is both sentimental and overused. The same card might be called cheesy if the decoration looks cheap, or trite if you are analysing it in a literature class.

cheesyhackneyedtritestale ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • corny as it sounds

Etymology

American English slangEnglish

The word 'corny' in this sense appeared in American slang around the 1930s. It comes from 'corn' in the sense of something rustic, basic, or old-fashioned — the idea being that something corny is as unsophisticated as the simple food corn. Over time the meaning shifted from 'rustic and unsophisticated' to 'overused, sentimental, and lacking originality'.