trope

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noun \ˈtrōp\

: a word, phrase, or image used in a new and different way in order to create an artistic effect

Full Definition of TROPE

1

a :  a word or expression used in a figurative sense :  figure of speech

b :  a common or overused theme or device :  cliché <the usual horror movie tropes>

2

:  a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

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Examples of TROPE

1. <a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes>

Origin of TROPE

Latin tropus, from Greek tropos turn, way, manner, style, trope, from trepein to turn

First Known Use: 1533

Related to TROPE

Synonyms

banality, bromide, chestnut, cliché (also cliche), groaner, homily, platitude, shibboleth, commonplace, truism

Related Words

conventional wisdom, party line, routine; inanity; generality, generalization, simplification; adage, proverb, saw, saying; old wives' tale, stereotype

Near Antonyms

profundity

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with TROPE

cope, coup, dope, grope, hope, lope, mope, nope, ope, pope, rope, scop, scope, slope, soap, stope, taupe, tope