verb
- past tense of hoke; to make something seem overly sentimental or contrived
Usage: informal
Examples
- The actor hoked up his performance with unnecessary dramatic gestures.
- She hoked the emotional scene until it felt completely artificial.
- The director told him he had hoked the dialogue too much.
- They hoked the romantic subplot to appeal to a broader audience.
- The comedian hoked his routine with exaggerated facial expressions.