cheesy

Pronunciation: /ˈtʃiːzi/ (IPA), CHEE-zee (American)

Origin: From Middle English "chesy," derived from "cheese" + "-y"

Meanings:

1. Containing or resembling cheese
2. (informal) Cheap, unoriginal, or poor in quality
3. (informal) Excessively sentimental or emotional

Example Sentences:

1. The pizza was topped with a thick, cheesy sauce.
2. The movie's dialogue was so cheesy that it made the audience cringe.
3. He wrote a cheesy love poem for Valentine's Day.

Related Words:

• Noun: cheese
• Adjective: cheesier (comparative), cheesiest (superlative)
• Adverb: cheesily
• Synonyms: corny, tacky, trite, clichéd, sappy

Memorizable Tricks:

• Think of a cheap, low-budget movie with exaggerated emotions as being covered in a thick, artificial cheese sauce – both are "cheesy."
• Remember that something "cheesy" often tries too hard to please, like a forced smile in a cheesy photograph.