as in imitative
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
critics faulted the novel for having a painfully unoriginal plot
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Recent Examples of unoriginal
These stories are shockingly unoriginal, both in the real world and in films and television.
—
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
Using Trite Business Jargon Nothing screams unoriginal like a LinkedIn profile filled with corporate buzzwords.
—William Arruda, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Perhaps because of these unoriginal guesses, Lucky Duck had a blast from the past exclusive clue ready for everyone, featuring season 3’s Banana, a.k.a.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Issues Regarding Ethics And Credibility The rise of AI content raises significant ethical questions, including biased information (depending on the topic and tool), a lack of transparent attribution and blurred lines between original and unoriginal content.
—Angeley Mullins, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
Using Trite Business Jargon Nothing screams unoriginal like a LinkedIn profile filled with corporate buzzwords.
—William Arruda, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Perhaps because of these unoriginal guesses, Lucky Duck had a blast from the past exclusive clue ready for everyone, featuring season 3’s Banana, a.k.a.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Issues Regarding Ethics And Credibility The rise of AI content raises significant ethical questions, including biased information (depending on the topic and tool), a lack of transparent attribution and blurred lines between original and unoriginal content.
—Angeley Mullins, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unoriginal
Adjective
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Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
25 June 2025
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The word was likely imitative of the deep humming sound male bees make.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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An entertaining read, though the plots of the books in the series have become a bit formulaic.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
6 July 2025
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Their journey to the island is formulaic, sticking to the same familiar Housewives travel schticks.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unoriginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unoriginal. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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