banality

noun

ba·​nal·​i·​ty bə-ˈna-lə-tē  bā- 

 also  ba-

plural banalities

1

: something that lacks originality, freshness, or novelty : something banal : commonplace

2

: the quality or state of lacking new or interesting qualities : the quality or state of being banal

Synonyms

• bromide
• chestnut
• cliché
• cliche
• commonplace
• groaner
• homily
• platitude
• shibboleth
• trope
• truism

Examples of banality in a Sentence

The trip offers an escape from the banalities of daily life.

We exchanged banalities about the weather.

The writing never rose above banality.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cleo stirs in Johnny a sense of wonder absent from the banality of his movie-star life. —Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2023

Glazer’s film, his first since 2013’s Under the Skin, is an aesthetically austere and chilling contemplation on the banality of evil. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023

Sentences are short, repetition is frequent, banality and cliché are regularly and deliberately deployed: Helen: What day is today? —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2023

The trouble — and this is a banality — is that Hollywood doesn’t seem to know what to do with older actresses who aren’t straining to look younger. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023

Something close to social apocalypse is apparent in so many shorts that reflect today’s shallow social-justice preoccupations, especially through eros-is-sick conceptual confusion and banality. —Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2023

Knausgaard is acutely in tune with the simultaneity of life’s majesty and banality. —Charles Arrowsmith, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2023

The mother superior lectured her on the banality of secular music, and a nun tried to steal her music scores. —Jonathan Kandell, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023

Over the course of his career, Buffett earned their love by transforming himself into a kind of musical shaman who offered transport from the banalities of everyday life to the bounty of a never-never land of eternal sun, endless sandy beaches and bottomless boat drinks: Margaritaville. —Drew M. Dalton, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French banalité, from banal "available for general use, commonplace, banal" + -ité -ity

Note: The modern French word is probably an eighteenth-century coinage, and not continuous with Middle French bannalité "a feudal lord's right to extract usage fees, area under such a jurisdiction."

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1