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

But because the world of Beetlejuice includes a campy depiction of the bureaucratic afterlife, Charles isn’t gone from the story. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2024

Throughout the delightfully campy video, Carpenter and Jenna Ortega, quite literally, fight to the death over what appears to be Ortega’s current boyfriend and Carpenter’s ex. —Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024

From opening up for Olivia Rodrigo to this latest Lollapalooza set, her theatrical, campy and intensely physical performances have captivated audiences across the country – even those who may not have been enamored with her music off a casual Spotify listen. —Christine Werthman, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2024

The production opens with a musical prelude that draws campy inspiration from such 1980s icons as Olivia Newton-John and Richard Simmons. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above