campy

adjective

ˈkam-pē 

campier; campiest

: in the style of camp : absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way

campy horror movies

campy humor

Witnessing their synchronized routine, he almost expects them to break into some campy chorus line from one of the seedier nightclubs.

—Margaret Atwood

He could modify his outbursts into what were sometimes hilariously campy performances.

—Robert Gray

campily

ˈkam-pə-lē 

adverb

The new film promises to be as campily outrageous as its predecessors.

—John Stark

… the Addams Family, the campily macabre clan created by the late cartoonist Charles Addams …

—Margot Dougherty

campiness

ˈkam-pē-nəs 

noun

… hoped to take Rocketeer to a much higher level of sophistication and avoid the campiness of some of the more recent comics-inspired films.

—Ron Magid

… a power-mad despot, played with exhilarating campiness by John Malkovich.

—Steven Rebello

Examples of campy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the quaint New England town where Practical Magic is set, witches aren’t swathed in darkness like in The Craft, nor are they campy like in Hocus Pocus. —Ivana Rihter, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2024

Unfortunately, despite remaining a campy classic for superhero fans, Batman & Robin received less-than-stellar reviews from critics and viewers, currently holding a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. —Sara Belcher, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024

In this delightfully campy madcap comedy, Elvira heads to small-town Massachusetts to receive an inheritance from her dead aunt, only to find out that the villagers aren’t fans of her cleavage, nor of her penchant for double entendre. —Samantha Allen, Them, 15 Oct. 2024

This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux. 01 of 10 Cesar Romero, Batman: The Movie (1966) / Batman (1966–1968) Between 1966 and 1968, Romero played the Joker on 22 episodes of the supremely campy and rather brilliant Batman television series, starring Adam West as the Caped Crusader. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

camp entry 3 + -y entry 1

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above