conventional wisdom

noun

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: conventional wisdom in a Sentence

Definition of conventional wisdom

: the generally accepted belief, opinion, judgment, or prediction about a particular matter

See conventional wisdom defined for English-language learners

Examples of conventional wisdom in a Sentence

Conventional wisdom in Hollywood says that a movie can't succeed unless it stars a famous actor or actress.

Recent Examples of conventional wisdom from the Web

The conventional wisdom was that Trudeau — taller, slender, aggravatingly handsome — wouldn’t be able to take a punch.

— nestor ramos, BostonGlobe.com, "President Trump called Trudeau ‘meek.’ The guy who faced him in a boxing ring begs to differ," 12 June 2018
The conventional wisdom is that the outlandish fiscal plans of the populist government that took office last week will further harden German hearts against proposals to spread risk in the euro area.

— The Economist, "France's plans for euro-zone reform get a lukewarm German response," 9 June 2018
As one person remembers, Rogers took all the conventional wisdom about how to make a TV show for children and did the opposite.

— bill goodykoontz, azcentral, "Mr. Rogers gets moving documentary in 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'," 7 June 2018
Kennedy turned the tables on the conventional wisdom by moving — both by circumstance and by calculation — in a more liberal direction.

— ross baker, Smithsonian, "Why Robert Kennedy Transformed From a Conservative Into a Liberal Champion of Civil Rights," 5 June 2018
The conventional wisdom is that having a Republican at the top of the ticket on the November ballot would increase GOP voter turnout, which could help vulnerable Republican members of Congress hold on to their seats.

— seema mehta, latimes.com, "Newsom warns of divisive Democratic battle if he and Villaraigosa advance to general election for California governor," 29 May 2018
And the midterm pattern can’t be explained by the conventional wisdom about how the November-through-April period is generally better for investors than the May-through-October period.

— mark hulbert, WSJ, "Why Stocks Can’t Wait for the Midterms to Be Over," 6 May 2018
The jobs pitch was another reminder that — at the very moment conventional wisdom expected a politician in his mid-70s to slow down — Bernie has hit the gas.

— will bunch, Philly.com, "'Bernie-ism' is the idea America needs right now. Does it need Bernie to succeed? | Will Bunch," 3 May 2018
His pending departure only reinforces the conventional wisdom in Washington that lawmakers are now in campaign mode, and except for having to consider Trump’s nominees, their work is more or less done until November.

— linda feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor, "Speaker Ryan to retire: What that says about the GOP, midterms," 11 Apr. 2018

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