Definition of CLICHES

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

Non-Amateur writers avoid industriously the word Orwellian, because even years ago it became an overused and underdefined cliché. — 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.

Recent Examples on the Web With many people adopting new work-from-home routines and houses packed with remote-learning kids or bored roommates, COVID-19 has potentially turned all of us into that hapless adolescent cliche. — Flora Tsapovsky, SFChronicle.com, "Amid pandemic isolation, audio erotica is having a moment," 11 Sep. 2020 After his brother — played by a fresh-faced Chris Brown — is murdered (another cliche of the genre) at a dance crew battle gone wrong, Short’s character, DJ, goes away to college to get out of trouble. — Washington Post, "Not all dance movies are created equal, but these 12 bad ones are still pretty great," 17 Aug. 2020 Johnson delivered on the promise of those subtitles, revealing how currently overlooked historical episodes were, in fact, momentous inflection points (to use a trendy cliche). — Howard Schneider, National Review, "When Piracy Threatened to Destroy the East India Company," 15 Aug. 2020 But the notion that simply making an image black and white can imbue it with an inherent sense of import has also become something of a cliche, especially when used by amateur Instagram shutterbugs. — Cait Munro, refinery29.com, "Grey Area: How Black & White Photography Became A Complicated Symbol Of Female Empowerment," 31 July 2020 There's a reason that socks are a cliche—but 100 percent terrific—Father's Day gift. — Amanda Tarlton, USA TODAY, "14 last-minute Father’s Day gifts that will arrive by Sunday," 16 June 2020 The challenge for Cole and his skilled collaborators is to capture this painful reality, to evoke an ongoing history of psychological and systemic bondage, without reducing those hard truths to deterministic cliches. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: Netflix’s ‘All Day and a Night’ is a bruising, empathetic gangland drama," 1 May 2020 Nothing here is a cliche, especially the ark aerie. — oregonlive, "Ark treehouse, Airstream and ADUs: Portland architect designs compact, comfy homes on his Cully property," 25 Apr. 2020 Sure, settling in on your sofa with a pint of Ben & Jerry's is a bored-at-home cliche, but churning out your own custom recipe is an accomplishment. — Country Living Staff, Country Living, "27 Fun & Useful Things to Do When You're Bored," 10 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cliché.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.