as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
the play's dialogue featured all of the groaners that seem to be de rigueur for any dysfunctional-family drama
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Recent Examples of groaner
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—
Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groaner
Noun
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To borrow a cliche, the M’s feel like the team of destiny.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Mentality is the critical factor here because, as the cliche goes, the defining feature of any champion team is securing victory in the face of adversity or underperformance.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Ridley Scott smartly evolved the trope with 1979’s Alien and 1982’s Blade Runner.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
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Blending thriller, drama and romance tropes coated in an overall ironic tone, the film marks the directorial debut of Rampoldi, who is a prominent Italian screenwriter.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
15 Oct. 2025
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One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Groaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groaner. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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