How to Use cornball in a Sentence
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That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn’t lead from the heart.
—Manohla Dargis, The Seattle Times, 16 Aug. 2017
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The new sober influencers have convinced me that this cornball 12-step stuff isn’t for everyone.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022
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Hollywood is bloody and messy, but its aims are sweet, bordering on cornball.
—Jesse Hassenger, The Verge, 1 Aug. 2019
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Of the teenage superheroes, Jaime would be in the Eagle Fang boat — a little chaotic, spontaneous, sly, a little cornball.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Jan. 2022
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The instructions are descriptive and exact, heavy on butter and cornball jokes.
—Jonathan Kauffman, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2020
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Less glitz, less glamour, but also less of the gaudy cornball razzmatazz that often leads to impromptu embarrassment and painful jokes.
—Gene Seymour, CNN, 26 Apr. 2021
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The desire to get back to normal results in a boring, cornball, paint-by-numbers Emmy production.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk and Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2021
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The film is about the power of storytelling, and not in the cornball, self-congratulatory sense in which that phrase is normally deployed.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2021
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High-octane action, including a wickedly complex scene shot around the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, makes up for the slightly cornball script.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 8 June 2022
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That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn't lead from the heart and wasn't adept at navigating seemingly clashing tones.
—The New York Times, NOLA.com, 18 Aug. 2017
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That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn’t lead from the heart and wasn’t adept at navigating seemingly clashing tones.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 27 July 2017
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The cool kids, including President Barack Obama, occasionally mocked him behind his back for his cornball earnestness.
—Ben Smith, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2020
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With a zest for showmanship, Mr. Trump had always seemed in his element on these cornball occasions, no matter what other turmoil happened to be upending his presidency at the moment.
—Mark Leibovich, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2020
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Only an ex-Bachelor could so comfortably oscillate between cornball self-promotion and heartfelt appeals.
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 19 Aug. 2021
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That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn’t lead from the heart.
—Manohla Dargis, The Seattle Times, 16 Aug. 2017
-
The new sober influencers have convinced me that this cornball 12-step stuff isn’t for everyone.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 19 Apr. 2022
-
Hollywood is bloody and messy, but its aims are sweet, bordering on cornball.
—Jesse Hassenger, The Verge, 1 Aug. 2019
-
Of the teenage superheroes, Jaime would be in the Eagle Fang boat — a little chaotic, spontaneous, sly, a little cornball.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Jan. 2022
-
The instructions are descriptive and exact, heavy on butter and cornball jokes.
—Jonathan Kauffman, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2020
-
Less glitz, less glamour, but also less of the gaudy cornball razzmatazz that often leads to impromptu embarrassment and painful jokes.
—Gene Seymour, CNN, 26 Apr. 2021
-
The desire to get back to normal results in a boring, cornball, paint-by-numbers Emmy production.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk and Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2021
-
The film is about the power of storytelling, and not in the cornball, self-congratulatory sense in which that phrase is normally deployed.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2021
-
High-octane action, including a wickedly complex scene shot around the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, makes up for the slightly cornball script.
—K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 8 June 2022
-
That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn't lead from the heart and wasn't adept at navigating seemingly clashing tones.
—The New York Times, NOLA.com, 18 Aug. 2017
-
That sounds like a bushel of cornball and might have devolved into pure ick if the director, Dave McCary, didn’t lead from the heart and wasn’t adept at navigating seemingly clashing tones.
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 27 July 2017
-
The cool kids, including President Barack Obama, occasionally mocked him behind his back for his cornball earnestness.
—Ben Smith, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2020
-
With a zest for showmanship, Mr. Trump had always seemed in his element on these cornball occasions, no matter what other turmoil happened to be upending his presidency at the moment.
—Mark Leibovich, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2020
-
Only an ex-Bachelor could so comfortably oscillate between cornball self-promotion and heartfelt appeals.
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 19 Aug. 2021
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Here’s how to rock the red, white, and blue this Fourth of July without any of the cornball risks or dorky potential for disaster.
—Yang-Yi Goh, GQ, 3 July 2018
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So why are so many vacation homes still tainted by these tired, cornball clichés?
—Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, 17 May 2019
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Every bit of the real me was in dancing and recitals in cornball town, Wethersfield, Connecticut.
—Shammara Lawrence, Allure, 5 Apr. 2018
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But the show has also kneecapped itself with scene after scene of insufferable cornball humor.
—Daniel Payne, National Review, 20 July 2019
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The woke mustache's popularity peaked during such a troubled time that even the most cornball celebrities couldn't help but get politicized.
—Miles Raymer, Esquire, 22 Dec. 2016
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Nixon's ski-jump nose, beloved by caricaturists, was a staple of the period's cornball humor.
—Sam Tanenhaus, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2017
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People who know Pai describe him as an ebullient presence, given to occasional cornball humor.
—Hamza Shaban, chicagotribune.com, 15 Dec. 2017
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Once standoffish with press, Steely Dan became reliably gracious interview subjects, a move that when paired with their cornball stage patter, helped warm a once notoriously chilly band.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2017
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That’s a particular thing, that sort of cornball comedy, relocating the ornery hillbilly or farmer to another environment that is baffling to the city people.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Apr. 2018
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The final episode wasn't mushy, true to Brownstein's comment at the Television Critics Association 2018 winter press tour that ending a sketch comedy show doesn't call for cornball plot developments.
—Kristi Turnquist, OregonLive.com, 22 Mar. 2018
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The drama, though action-packed and often dark, with royal torturer Richard Topcliffe (Ewen Bremner) the series’ evilest villain, is never particularly convincing, and often cornball.
—Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, 9 July 2017
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Hadn’t everyone seen that cornball Jimmy Stewart vehicle, rerun on television annually during the holiday season, a few dozen times?
—Julia M. Klein, Philly.com, 3 Nov. 2017
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Here’s how to rock the red, white, and blue this Fourth of July without any of the cornball risks or dorky potential for disaster.
—Yang-Yi Goh, GQ, 3 July 2018
-
So why are so many vacation homes still tainted by these tired, cornball clichés?
—Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, 17 May 2019
-
Every bit of the real me was in dancing and recitals in cornball town, Wethersfield, Connecticut.
—Shammara Lawrence, Allure, 5 Apr. 2018
-
But the show has also kneecapped itself with scene after scene of insufferable cornball humor.
—Daniel Payne, National Review, 20 July 2019
-
The woke mustache's popularity peaked during such a troubled time that even the most cornball celebrities couldn't help but get politicized.
—Miles Raymer, Esquire, 22 Dec. 2016
-
Nixon's ski-jump nose, beloved by caricaturists, was a staple of the period's cornball humor.
—Sam Tanenhaus, Esquire, 5 Apr. 2017
-
People who know Pai describe him as an ebullient presence, given to occasional cornball humor.
—Hamza Shaban, chicagotribune.com, 15 Dec. 2017
-
Once standoffish with press, Steely Dan became reliably gracious interview subjects, a move that when paired with their cornball stage patter, helped warm a once notoriously chilly band.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2017
-
That’s a particular thing, that sort of cornball comedy, relocating the ornery hillbilly or farmer to another environment that is baffling to the city people.
—Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Apr. 2018
-
The final episode wasn't mushy, true to Brownstein's comment at the Television Critics Association 2018 winter press tour that ending a sketch comedy show doesn't call for cornball plot developments.
—Kristi Turnquist, OregonLive.com, 22 Mar. 2018
-
The drama, though action-packed and often dark, with royal torturer Richard Topcliffe (Ewen Bremner) the series’ evilest villain, is never particularly convincing, and often cornball.
—Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, 9 July 2017
-
Hadn’t everyone seen that cornball Jimmy Stewart vehicle, rerun on television annually during the holiday season, a few dozen times?
—Julia M. Klein, Philly.com, 3 Nov. 2017
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cornball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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