state the obvious

idiom

: to tell people things they already know
She accused me of stating the obvious.

Examples of state the obvious in a Sentence

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Characters state the obvious and the dialogue has the delicacy of a sledgehammer. Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2026 To state the obvious, mistakes, a number of them tragic, were made. Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026 Defeating a veteran incumbent member of Congress in a Democrat primary is no easy task, to state the obvious. Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 1 Dec. 2025 To state the obvious, coins are worth money. USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for state the obvious

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Cite this Entry

“State the obvious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20the%20obvious. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.

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