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cheesily

cheesily

7.9
In a silly, overly sentimental way that feels not sincere
  • adverb
  • /ˈtʃiːzɪli/
  • Informal
translation icon : de manera cursi
  • He smiled cheesily at the camera, trying to look charming despite the awkwardness.

Examples

  • Larry grinned cheesily.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • They become famous and better polished, but their lyrics are so cheesily earnest and shallow, and their songs all sound the same.

    Blog text (3)
  • Swayzak swings around and puts his arm cheesily around Brian's shoulder.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The movie ended with a cheesily sentimental scene that made everyone roll their eyes.

  • She gave a cheesily over-the-top toast at the wedding that made all the guests chuckle.

Synonyms

sentimentally
vscheesily
2 4.7

In a way that shows warm feelings about people or the past

is more corny and lacking in style rather than simply emotional
tastelessly
vscheesily
1 6.7

In a way that shows bad taste or poor style

is corny and overly sentimental rather than merely lacking good taste
cloyingly
vscheesily
1 8.4

In a way that is too sweet or too emotional to enjoy

is sentimental but less sickly sweet and more corny in style
mawkishly
vscheesily
9.9

In a very sad and fake way that feels too strong

is sentimental but less sickly and more corny in tone
overly sugary
vscheesily
3.7

Having too much sugar in taste or feeling too emotional

is sentimental but less about sweetness and more about corniness
tackily
vscheesily
  • Informal
7.6

In a way that looks cheap and not stylish

is corny and sentimental rather than cheap or merely showy in appearance

How Corny

tastelessly
1 6.7
cheesily
  • Informal
7.9

Surface Forms

cheesily positive

Morphology

cheesily = cheesy (semi-transparent) = cheese + y + ly

The adverb is formed regularly from 'cheesy', but the adjective's figurative meaning 'corny, tacky' is a metaphorical shift from the literal sense and may not be fully predictable from 'cheese' alone.

Etymology

The word cheesily also means 'in a corny or cheap way'. The adjective cheesy grew from cheese to describe things that feel 'too emotional' or low quality, so cheesily means acting in a corny, 'too emotional' way.