Definition of proverbial
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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
Recent Examples of proverbial from the Web
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At the same time, the notion that the proverbial six days of war created a figurative Seventh Day—a kind of dark shadow under which the Arab-Israeli conflict has played out, inexorably and depressingly, these many years—is too simplistic a read.
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Of course, there are many first rate smartphones in the market, starting of course with the proverbial giants of the business, Samsung’s Galaxy franchise and Apple’s iPhones.
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If Desmond is really interested in braving the proverbial third rail of American economic policy, why not means-test the MID, Medicare and Social Security and fundamentally change the tax system in this country.
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In a group of other children, Caleb is the proverbial bull in a china shop.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proverbial'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of proverbial
see 1proverb
First Known Use: 1548
PROVERBIAL Defined for English Language Learners
proverbial
playDefinition of proverbial for English Language Learners
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: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
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: commonly spoken of : widely known
PROVERBIAL Defined for Kids
proverbial
playDefinition of proverbial for Students
1 : of a proverb a proverbial expression
2 : commonly spoken of You have the proverbial beginner's luck.
proverbially
adverbLearn More about proverbial
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Spanish Central: Translation of proverbial Nglish: Translation of proverbial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of proverbial for Arabic speakers
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