trope

noun

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\ ˈtrōp

Definition of trope

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a word or expression used in a figurative sense : figure of speech

b : a common or overused theme or device : cliché the usual horror movie tropes

2 : a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

-trope

noun combining form

Definition of -trope (Entry 2 of 2)

: body characterized by (such) a state allotrope

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about trope

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Examples of trope in a Sentence

Noun a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Such laments express, on the one hand, a key trope underlying notions of heritage: that the past, the experiences of ancestors, lives on in us. — Adolph Reed Jr., The New Republic, "The Retrograde Quest for Symbolic Prophets of Black Liberation," 17 Feb. 2021 The arrival of Pietro ticks off two boxes on the sitcom-trope checklist. — Jen Chaney, Vulture, "That WandaVision Ending Gives Deeper Meaning to a Crossover Event," 5 Feb. 2021 One common trope of the disaster film is the moment when people in the film see the terrible thing about to befall them. — Kate Knibbs, Wired, "Can Disaster Movies Survive a Pandemic?," 25 Dec. 2020 The trope of sibling rivalry is a little different with the Allens. — Mike Gegenheimer | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "It's in the blood: Sibling swimmers Layla and Garrison Allen thrive for Mandeville," 23 Dec. 2020 That trope is not the reality of all families or all teams. — Ann Killion, SFChronicle.com, "He came out to his team before Stanford cut his sport. Now he mourns a lost family," 22 Dec. 2020 Time loops are a well-trodden trope, with not one, but two innovative multiverse twists last year alone: the Netflix comedy series Russian Doll, and the horror/comedy Happy Death Day 2. — Ars Staff, Ars Technica, "The 15 best films of a bizarre (and probably historic) year for film," 19 Dec. 2020 Iwomoto attributes this not only to cultural differences, but also the model minority trope, which encourages Asians to be successful while being independent. — Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY, "This is America: Stop gaslighting me with the Asian 'model minority' myth," 17 Dec. 2020 The latter comes dangerously close to a longstanding trope against observant Jews like myself. — WSJ, "Notable & Quotable: Northwestern’s President Condemns Student Protesters," 22 Oct. 2020

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

History and Etymology for trope

Noun

borrowed from Latin tropus "figure of speech" (Medieval Latin, "embellishment to the sung parts of the Mass"), borrowed from Greek trópos "turn, way, manner, style, figurative expression," noun derivative from the base of trépein "to turn," probably going back to Indo-European *trep-, whence also Sanskrit trapate "(s/he) is ashamed, becomes perplexed," Hittite te-ri-ip-zi "(s/he) ploughs"

Note: Also compared is Latin trepit, glossed as vertit "(s/he) turns," but as this form is only attested in the lexicon of the grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus, it may be a reconstruction based on the Greek word. The word tropes (genitive case) in the Old English translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History is an isolated instance; the word was reborrowed from Latin or Greek in the 16th century.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek -tropos "turned, directed, living (in the manner indicated)," adjective derivative of trópos "turn, way, manner, style" — more at trope

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