corn
1
7.7
- noun
- /kɔrn/
- Archaic
- I found the song quite corn; it relied heavily on clichés and formulaic lyrics that offered nothing new.
Examples
-
The movie was filled with over-the-top emotions and predictable plots, making it a classic example of corn.
-
Same corn over and over.
-
In the evenings, they would pop corn, have hot cocoa, and then visit until late at night.
Fiction book (1996) -
His hair flopped forward like corn silk surrounded by leaves at the top of a healthy maize plant.
Academic text (2009) -
Part of academic accountants' "seed corn" is our public, scholarly dialogue about the management of accounting knowledge through accounting education.
Academic text (2004) -
Bronson cited figures showing modern per-acre yields of manioc were nearly six times those of corn.
Academic text (2009) -
Many people appreciate the corn in Hallmark films for their predictable happy endings and sentimental messages.
Synonyms
4
7.5
Silly and old-fashioned in a way that feels uncool
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- US
26
2.3
A sweet thick liquid made from corn that you use to make food sweeter and thicker
- US
13
3.5
A small triangular sweet with yellow, orange, and white layers often eaten at Halloween
9
1.1
A type of corn with sweet, tender kernels that people eat as a vegetable when young
- Offensive
4
8.3
A strong, healthy-looking person from the countryside who seems a bit naive
- US
1
6.0
A gentle reddish-orange snake from the southeastern United States often found on farms and kept as a pet
- US
1
2.5
A small fried cake of batter and bits of corn served hot as a snack or side dish
- UK
1
7.5
Snow made of small loose grains after melting in daytime and freezing again at night
- US
1
5.6
An alcoholic drink made mostly from corn, traditionally from the United States
1
7.7
An insect, usually a moth or its caterpillar, that eats holes in corn stems and harms the crop
- Specialized
1
4.5
A coarse food for farm animals like cattle made from parts left after making corn products
- Specialized
1
8.1
A type of corn with hard outer kernels and a soft inside used for food or decoration
- US
1
9.3
A traditional dance by some Native American people to ask for rain and a good corn harvest
1
3.4
A type of cornbread cooked in a frying pan that has a crisp golden crust
- UK
1
9.9
A plant with bright purple, trumpet-shaped flowers and poisonous seeds that grows in grain fields and roadsides
1
9.4
A small white wildflower with a yellow center that grows in cornfields and spreads quickly
1
9.9
A small woodland plant with creamy white flowers and yellow roots like corn kernels
- South African
1
7.5
A South African plant with long grasslike leaves and bright lily-like flowers
- UK
1
4.1
A bright red wild flower that grows in fields of grain in Europe and that people often plant in gardens
- UK
A European wildflower with reddish-purple trumpet-shaped flowers and poisonous seeds
A small annual plant with tiny blue flowers that grows in open ground like roadsides
- UK
A small plant with thin leaves and white star-shaped flowers that grows in fields
- UK
A small weed with leaves that grow around the stem and white flowers in farm fields
- Archaic
A small plant like grass with pale flowers and a bitter root used to treat stomach problems
- Indian
A grain plant called sorghum that people grow for food in dry regions of North Africa and Asia
A small moth whose young caterpillars make holes in corn stems and damage crops
How Sentimental
Surface Forms
Etymology
Corn used for something sentimental or clichéd grew from the idea of simple country shows and jokes, so a helpful way to remember it is to think of old rural fairs with easy, over-sweet jokes; that is why corn (or 'corny') now means something too simple or silly.