Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A drama, typically performed as a serial on daytime television or radio, characterized by stock characters and situations, sentimentality, and melodrama.
- n. A series of experiences characterized by dramatic displays of emotion.
Wiktionary
- n. A radio or television serial, typically broadcast in the afternoon or evening, about the lives of melodramatic characters, which are often filled with strong emotions, highly dramatic situations and suspense.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a serialized program usually dealing with sentimentalized family matters that is broadcast on radio or television (frequently sponsored by a company advertising soap products)
Etymologies
- From soap + opera: soap from the soap and detergent commercials originally broadcast during the shows, which were aimed at women who were cleaning their house at the time of viewing; opera from the melodramatic character of the shows. (Wiktionary)
- From its originally having been sponsored by soap companies. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
““The soap opera became a love story,” Johan Jørgen Holst commented self-critically to me in September, after the Washington signing ceremony.”
“I got home early today and watched this soap opera called The Guiding Light.”
“The man was a silver-haired, silver-tongued political animal who had been anointed with the slick look of soap opera doctor, which seemed appropriate considering his talents of impersonation.”
“For example, data about family planning adoption were gathered at seventy-nine health clinics in Tanzania as a check on the recall data obtained from respondents in survey interviews about the role of an entertainment-education radio soap opera in convincing them to adopt Rogers et al., 1999.”
“He was replaced by Karima Moktar, a well-known soap opera actress, who was perceived as highly credible for the topic of ORT.”
“A thud came from the window and Denise Jackson turned away from her afternoon soap opera to stare at the closed blinds.”
“For example, the diffusion intervention may be an entertainment-education soap opera about family planning or HIV/AIDS prevention that is broadcast in one area and not in another Rogers et al., 1999.”
“With absolute open-mouthed attention to every movement and sound, daytime soap opera or commercial, she sat in rigid straight-backed motionlessness, having forgotten to even sit back.”
“Gray-faced and red-eyed, Taylor Lockwood blinked in surprise at his entrance and shut off the soap opera she was watching.”
“The soap opera Santa Barbara wants a guy to wear a patch over one eyethere I am.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘soap opera’.
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UK Usage - Find US Equivalent
All these terms have a (different) American English equivalent. Wonder if you can identify them?
abridgement (abri..., accoutrement, accoutre, acknowledgement (..., opposite, advert, adaptor, adapter, sticking plaster, advertise, adviser (advisor ..., adze, aesthete and 1196 more...
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Operas
opera, operas, Opera, operator, operation, Operation, smooth operator, operating room, operating theater, operating theatre, modus operandi, operant conditioning and 17 more...
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A Soapy List
soapbox, soapstone, soap opera, soapie, soapstar, docusoap, soft-soap, toilet-soap, tooth-soap, soapsuds, soapmaking, soap-boiler and 49 more...
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OM1 Lesson 12
counter, fish, tuna, roast beef, bread, white, rye, wheat, pumpernickel, for here, to go, miss and 21 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for soap opera.
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