hackneyed

adjective

hack·​neyed ˈhak-nēd 

: lacking in freshness or originality

hackneyed slogans

Did you know?

Does hackney come from the name of an English town?

Hackney entered the English language in the 14th century as a noun. Some think perhaps it came from "Hakeneye" (now "Hackney"), the name of a town (now a borough) in England. Others dispute this explanation, pointing to similar forms in other European languages. The noun "hackney," in any case, refers to a horse suitable for ordinary riding or driving-as opposed to one used as a draft animal or a war charger. When "hackney" was first used as a verb in the late 16th century, it often meant "to make common or frequent use of." Later, it meant "to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace." The adjective "hackneyed" began to be used in the 18th century and now is a common synonym for "trite."

Synonyms

• banal
• cliché
• cliche
• clichéd
• cobwebby
• commonplace
• hack
• hackney
• moth-eaten
• musty
• obligatory
• shopworn
• stale
• stereotyped
• threadbare
• timeworn
• tired
• trite
• well-worn

Choose the Right Synonym for hackneyed

trite, hackneyed, stereotyped, threadbare mean lacking the freshness that evokes attention or interest.

trite applies to a once effective phrase or idea spoiled from long familiarity.

"you win some, you lose some" is a trite expression

hackneyed stresses being worn out by overuse so as to become dull and meaningless.

all of the metaphors and images in the poem are hackneyed

stereotyped implies falling invariably into the same pattern or form.

views of minorities that are stereotyped and out-of-date

threadbare applies to what has been used until its possibilities of interest have been totally exhausted.

a mystery novel with a threadbare plot

Examples of hackneyed in a Sentence

it's hackneyed, but true—the more you save the more you earn

Recent Examples on the Web

Any positive lesson here is lost in all the hackneyed jokes, and by the end the movie falls apart entirely. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 May 2024

Yet somehow, the shell company set up to convey his hackneyed rants reached a $9 billion valuation, putting it up there with Etsy. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024

This is most keenly felt in the second half, when the author’s command of his subject slips and the story rushes to its hackneyed conclusion. —Michael Greenberg, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024

The show's cringing-while-laughing setup would be too much for some viewers — but many others found watching the gang guessing ethnicities written on index cards taped to their foreheads to be a welcome change to the hackneyed humor of the contemporary sitcom landscape. —Erin Strecker, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of hackney entry 3

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

hackneyed

adjective

hack·​neyed ˈhak-nēd 

: worn out from too much use : commonplace

a hackneyed expression