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What is the Difference Between cliché and stereotype?
The words cliché and stereotype have a good deal in common. Both come from French, both were originally printers’ terms, and both have come to take on somewhat negative meanings in modern use.
Their original meanings are essentially synonymous, referring to printing blocks from which numerous prints could be made. In fact, cliché means stereotype in French. Their modern meanings, however, are quite distinct. Cliché is today overwhelmingly encountered in reference to something hackneyed, such as an overly familiar or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression. Stereotype is most frequently now employed to refer to an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.
Examples of cliché in a Sentence
William F. Buckley, Jr., National Review, 1 May 2000
FILM "I Like It Like That": It has every cliché of the 'hood genre, elevated by a strong woman protagonist and a few comic moments.
—Bell Hooks, Ms., September/October 1994
I'd never been out with a model before, so I hadn't even bargained on the cliché of the rock star and the model as being part of my life.
—David Bowie, quoted in Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993
Time has been the best healer for the pain of loss, just as the old cliché says, but letting go is still difficult.
—Lynn McAndrews, My Father Forgets, 1990
… don't seek the ultimate, general solution; find a corner that can be defined precisely and, as our new cliché proclaims, go for it.
—Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, July 1987
a speech filled with clichés about “finding your way” and “keeping the faith”
The macho cop of Hollywood movies has become a cliché.
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 July 2025
And in a twist on the typical movie cliches, guess who plays the ditzy character this time?
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 17 July 2025
In a film landscape where reliance on tropes and cliches leads to a predictable time at the movies, Ari Aster marches to the beat of his own, often deranged, drummer.
—Scott Phillips, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
The old cliche seems true, that writing is tough, but having written is wonderful.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
The cliche is old, outdated and just a lazy argument used in conversations where not much knowledge of the WNBA is present.
—Fiifi Frimpong, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2025
The channel presents videos of Adams traveling to various country clubs and using Jewish cliches to poke fun at golf’s historic exclusion of Jews.
—Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 4 July 2025
The actor does his best to exude menace, but he’s hampered by a script filled with franchise cliches like an evil admiral (Peter Weller) and Kirk playing fast and loose with the Prime Directive.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 30 June 2025
To invoke a cliche, the movie teaches you how to watch it, establishing a visual language early and hammering it often.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 28 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cliché
noun
French, literally, "metal printing plate"
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