proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
2
: that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of
the proverbial smoking gun
Examples of proverbial in a Sentence
Insanity roamed through her large midwestern tribe, cloistered in proverbial dark closets in gabled houses in areas of the country where no one else lived for miles and miles …
—
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Recent Examples on the Web
There are countless points during Body of Work, the new hour-long behemoth from Edward Skeletrix, where the multi-hyphenate artist stares dead into the proverbial camera.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 15 May 2026
Here’s hoping there’s a next to this, as scientists standing on Revolution’s proverbial shoulders build on the creation of this most valuable, seemingly life-extending (no matter how short) drug that’s evidently so pregnant with knowledge.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
McGreevy is basically Miles Mikolas, who also had some stretches of success, but there is a reckoning that’s almost certainly coming at him like the proverbial freight train.
—Michael Salfino, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The diarrhea stories are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
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Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 15 May 2026
Here’s hoping there’s a next to this, as scientists standing on Revolution’s proverbial shoulders build on the creation of this most valuable, seemingly life-extending (no matter how short) drug that’s evidently so pregnant with knowledge.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
McGreevy is basically Miles Mikolas, who also had some stretches of success, but there is a reckoning that’s almost certainly coming at him like the proverbial freight train.
—Michael Salfino, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The diarrhea stories are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
—Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
Cite this Entry
“Proverbial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proverbial. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
proverbial wisdom
2
: commonly spoken of
the proverbial beginner's luck
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