proverbial

adjective

pro·​ver·​bi·​al prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb

2

: that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of

the proverbial smoking gun

proverbially

prə-ˈvər-bē-ə-lē 

adverb

Examples of proverbial in a Sentence

Insanity roamed through her large midwestern tribe, cloistered in proverbial dark closets in gabled houses in areas of the country where no one else lived for miles and miles … —Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991

I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990

Recent Examples on the Web

Is this over the proverbial top, regarding etiquette? —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024

And given that LinkedIn is training its AI on some of the content, the proverbial garbage data is being recycled ad infinitum. —Bysharon Goldman, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024

Needless to note, the world constantly surprises, and something impossible to foresee could occur: the proverbial black swan. —Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the comedy-drama stars Channing Tatum as Mike, the proverbial stripper with a heart of gold, and exploits of the Kings of Tampa, an all-male revue. —Danny Horn, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2024

As travelers head straight to perennial favorites like Newport, Rhode Island; Provincetown, Massachusetts; and Kennebunkport, Maine, why not take a proverbial left turn? —Amy Thomas, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2024

This planted the proverbial seed to find a way to use data to improve operations and knowledge. —Paul Tilsley, Fox News, 12 Apr. 2024

But then again, the gambling story was going to break in Anaheim too, so … Definitely did not have any of this on the proverbial bingo card, though, that’s for sure. —Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024

The proverbial car chases continue to this day across social media. —Brian Stelter, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see proverb entry 1

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

proverbial

adjective

pro·​ver·​bi·​al prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb

proverbial wisdom

2

: commonly spoken of

the proverbial beginner's luck

proverbially

-bē-ə-lē 

adverb