Meaning & use
cheesy
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Containing cheese, or having the taste, smell or texture of cheese.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after a verb: a cheesy sauce; the bread smells cheesy.
The kids love cheesy pasta with a crispy top.
The sauce was thick and cheesy.
His socks gave off a strangely cheesy smell.
adjectivecomparableinformaldisapproving
Of poor taste or quality because it is too sentimental, corny or obviously trying to impress.
Grammar: Informal and critical but often affectionate: a cheesy joke, a cheesier film.
Patterns
- a cheesy something
He opened the speech with a cheesy joke that made everyone groan.
The film has a cheesy ending, but I loved it anyway.
She rolled her eyes at the cheesy pickup line.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Of a smile, wide, forced and fake, as when posing for a photo.
Grammar: Mostly used before the word grin or smile: a cheesy grin.
Patterns
- a cheesy grin
He flashed a cheesy grin for the camera.
The salesman's cheesy smile did not fool anyone.
They all posed with cheesy grins on their faces.
Word forms
| comparative | cheesier |
|---|---|
| superlative | cheesiest |
Common combinations
- cheesy joke
- Dad's cheesy jokes make the whole table groan.
- cheesy grin
- He had a cheesy grin on his face when he won.
- cheesy pop song
- It's a cheesy pop song, yet everyone sings along.
- cheesy sauce
- Pour the cheesy sauce over the cauliflower.
- cheesy romance
- We watched a cheesy romance on a rainy Sunday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corny
- Corny is almost the same but suggests old-fashioned or overused humor, while cheesy leans toward low quality or fake sentiment.
- tacky
- Tacky points to cheap or tasteless style and appearance, while cheesy often refers to words, jokes or entertainment.
- schmaltzy
- Schmaltzy is stronger and means sentimental to an excessive degree, which is only one kind of cheesy.
- kitschy
- Kitschy is used for decorative objects or art that are tastelessly sentimental, and it can be said with some fondness.
Opposites
Word family
- cheese noun
- The food made from milk curds.
- cheesiness noun
- The quality of being cheesy.
- cheesily adverb
- In a cheesy way.
- cheesecake noun
- A dessert made with soft cheese on a crumb base.
Commonly confused: cheesy or cheeky?
cheesy vs cheeky
Cheeky means playfully rude or bold, and has nothing to do with cheese or low quality.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cheesy' in its informal, critical sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the third sentence is about low-quality sentiment. The others describe real cheese flavor or smell.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cheesy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.