Corny means something that tries to be funny, touching, or clever but comes across as too obvious, outdated, or embarrassingly sentimental instead. A corny joke might make you groan and roll your eyes rather than laugh, like “Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!” That's a classic corny joke: the pun is so obvious and overused that it feels stale.

Movies can be corny when they rely on predictable plots or overly sweet moments that feel forced. A scene where everyone suddenly learns an Important Life Lesson and hugs while sappy music plays might strike you as corny. Birthday cards with phrases like “You're one in a melon!” accompanied by a picture of a watermelon are wonderfully corny.

The word isn't always an insult, though. Sometimes people enjoy corny things precisely because they're harmlessly silly and unpretentious. Dad jokes are famously corny, but many people love them anyway. Your family might have corny traditions, like singing a ridiculous song before road trips, that feel special even though they make you laugh at their silliness.

What makes something corny often depends on personal taste and timing. What seems fresh and sincere to one person might feel corny to another. The key element is that corny things lack subtlety: they're trying so hard to get a reaction that they overshoot and become cheesy.