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camp

camp

6 8.8
A style that is exaggerated and silly on purpose to be funny
  • noun
  • /kæmp/
  • Literature
: kitsch
  • There's nothing wrong with a little bit of camp.
  • camp sensibility
  • camp aesthetic
  • camp humor

Right, next one, please be as gay as you like, but for fuck's sake, drop the camp.

Examples

  • Mugler, like he is like the king of camp, like he invented camp.

  • She's a little camp for me, but‚ heh....

  • I would totally wear this look now and it is camp as hell and I love it.

  • What do you think, this is camp?

  • But people H&M sells some pretty camp things.

  • This is the part of camp that plays a character adding drama for the sake of aesthetics.

  • And now with the red lips, it's it's turning into a little bit of Met Gala camp, but I'm here for it on this fine Monday morning.

  • As Newton famously wrote, camp involves "laughing at one's incongruous position instead of crying."

    Academic text (2015)
  • "What was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation "had been transmuted by the mere passing of years "to a status at once magical and also camp."

  • The film is full of bright colors and over-the-top characters, making it a prime example of camp in cinema.

Synonyms

kitsch
vscamp
14 8.1

Objects or art that look cheap and too sentimental but are sometimes liked as a joke

is deliberate theatrical sensibility valued for being affected and fashionable
campiness
vscamp
1 7.9

A style that is exaggerated and showy to be funny or to make fun

is the broader aesthetic style or sensibility rather than only a quality

Compounds

87 1.3

A place where children stay away from home in summer to join activities

71 3.5

A place that gives temporary shelter and help to people forced to leave their country because of war

concentration camp
  • Offensive
59 5.6

A place where many people are imprisoned without trial in harsh, crowded conditions

58 3.4

A place at the start of a trip for climbing or hiking where people rest and keep supplies

51 3.2

A private house in Maryland where the US President meets leaders and rests

33 4.1

A camp where new soldiers get intense basic training

31 4.2

A short intense course that quickly teaches skills like coding or fitness

29 5.3

A camp where guards keep people against their will, often during war

21 7.5

A prison where people are forced to work, often for political reasons

death camp
  • NSFW
18 8.4

A prison camp where people are kept and killed, often used by Nazi Germany in World War II

13 2.5

A place where children spend the day doing activities with adults and go home at night

A place where people are held under guard during war or for political reasons

8 7.0

A camp where prisoners must do hard physical work

7 4.3

A camp that holds soldiers captured during a war

A place where refugees or migrants are kept temporarily while officials decide if they can enter the country

A place that holds soldiers captured by the enemy during a war

4 2.2

A place where people take lessons and practice tennis

aide-de-camp
  • Formal
3 9.6

A military officer who helps a senior officer with personal and official duties

reeducation camp
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A place where a government holds people and forces them to change their beliefs

camp follower
  • Archaic
1 8.0

A person who travels with an army to cook, trade and help

1 6.2

A place where young people who broke the law stay temporarily under court care

1 2.1

A small bed that folds for sleeping when camping or for guests

1 1.6

A small folding chair you use outdoors, for example when camping

A Nazi camp near Munich where the government locked up and killed Jews and other people during the Holocaust

1 4.2

A place where people rent spaces for homes on wheels with water and electricity

A camp in southwest Poland where Nazis killed many people, mostly Jewish people, during World War II

camp meeting
  • Archaic
1 7.0

A religious gathering that takes place outdoors or in tents for several days

hobo camp
  • Archaic
1 9.1

A place where homeless people live temporarily, often in tents or simple shelters

A place like a prison in northwest Germany where Nazis held and killed many Jewish people during World War II

A program where people receive therapy to regain strength and movement after injury or illness

A camp in central Germany run by the Nazis where many people are imprisoned and killed during World War II

concentration camp
  • Offensive
1 6.8

A place or situation where people are kept under very harsh, crowded, and controlled conditions

A short, intensive course that teaches programming skills to prepare people for tech jobs

1 8.8

A bold gray bird that steals food from camps and picnics

9.9

A woman who travels with soldiers and offers sex for money

8.4

A place where people are kept by the government and forced to change their beliefs or behavior

How Exaggerated

campiness
1 7.9
camp
  • Literature
6 8.8
kitsch
14 8.1

Surface Forms

camp singular
camps plural

Etymology

One popular idea says the style word camp comes from French se camper, meaning 'to pose'. Think of someone striking a dramatic pose, and you can see why camp describes things that are deliberately exaggerated or silly.