Did you know?
A bromide is a statement so worn and trite as to be ineffective when it’s offered to make someone feel better. Before the sigh-inducing type, though, bromides were most familiar in compounds like potassium bromide, used in the late 19th century as a sedative to treat everything from epilepsy to sleeplessness. (The chemical element bromine had been discovered in 1826.) Such compounds fell from use with the invention of barbiturates in the early 20th century, around the same time that the word bromide started to be applied to anything or anyone dull enough to make one drowsy.
Synonyms of bromide
Examples of bromide in a Sentence
Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
Other testing by the state’s environmental quality department found elevated levels of heavy metals commonly found in oil field wastewater including barium and bromide.
—Nick Bowlin, ProPublica, 18 May 2026
While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Disruption without construction Instructors burned out with the current situation endure a barrage of repetitive bromides.
—ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bromide
Cite this Entry
“Bromide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bromide. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bromide
noun
