as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
another sitcom based on the banality of roommates with opposite personalities
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Recent Examples of banality
The non-concert footage is meant to bridge the personal and the political, and to convey the banalities and horrors of the early 1970s as well as to illuminate Lennon and Ono’s activism.
—
Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
There are quick but indelible glimpses of signs for the whites-only ticket booth, waiting room, and rest room; when Stack, seeing a white woman nearby, orders Sammie to avert his eyes and walk away, the screen shivers with the ambient terror underlying the banalities of segregation.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
And as his fellow nominees have trudged through the Q&As, Chalamet has largely eschewed the traditional banalities of awards season.
—Ramin Setoodeh, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Yesterday’s pangrams were attainability, banality and inability.
—Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
There are quick but indelible glimpses of signs for the whites-only ticket booth, waiting room, and rest room; when Stack, seeing a white woman nearby, orders Sammie to avert his eyes and walk away, the screen shivers with the ambient terror underlying the banalities of segregation.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
And as his fellow nominees have trudged through the Q&As, Chalamet has largely eschewed the traditional banalities of awards season.
—Ramin Setoodeh, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
Yesterday’s pangrams were attainability, banality and inability.
—Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banality
Noun
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To fall back on one of horror marketing’s favorite cliches, the man has a twisted mind.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
26 June 2025
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Answers vary from obvious to obscure, some citing culture or clutch performances, while others cling to cliches that this club is turning into truths.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
26 June 2025
Noun
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The state uses a three-drug protocol of etomidate, rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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But behind such vague bromides are specific national qualities that social scientists can identify and measure.—
Michael J. Mazarr,
Foreign Affairs,
21 June 2022
Noun
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Luxury scented candles, like room sprays for that matter, have the power to elevate any moment: taking it from commonplace to utterly indulgent.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
26 Mar. 2025
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The Grand Ole Opry House holds 4,400 people, but can’t accommodate standing-room tours, a commonplace in genres like EDM and hip-hop.—
Matthew Leimkuehler,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Starting with fawning platitudes, the relationship between the world's richest man and the world's most powerful man has come to an acrimonious end.—
Dan Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 June 2025
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Too often people send graduates out into the world with platitudes and lofty thoughts.—
Harry Kraemer,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Brown’s recommendations reflected a truism: Americans believed that low-calorie food, especially vegetarian food, was a mood killer.—
Rachel Hope Cleves / Made by History,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
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Bear in mind the truism that stock markets can always go down as well as up.—
Dr. Ronald Premuroso,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Banality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banality. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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