1
as in slogan
an attention-getting word or phrase used to publicize something (as a campaign or product)
we knew that their claim of giving "the best deal in town" was just a shibboleth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
there's a lot of truth in the shibboleth that if you give some people an inch, they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shibboleth
Fruity Pebbles have become a new shibboleth in the ongoing feud between The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stars Demi Engemann and Jessi Ngatikaura Draper.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 Nov. 2025
This opens up the possibility that the agency can finally be wrenched away from divisive ideologies and progressive shibboleths and become a streamlined international-development assistance system that truly advances America’s interests.
—The Editors, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025
As far back as 2015, when all of Washington was under the influence of unfettered free-trade shibboleths, Trump warned about the dangers of economic dependencies, built up over decades of liberalization, that could be exploited for geopolitical leverage.
—Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 Nov. 2025
This opens up the possibility that the agency can finally be wrenched away from divisive ideologies and progressive shibboleths and become a streamlined international-development assistance system that truly advances America’s interests.
—The Editors, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025
As far back as 2015, when all of Washington was under the influence of unfettered free-trade shibboleths, Trump warned about the dangers of economic dependencies, built up over decades of liberalization, that could be exploited for geopolitical leverage.
—Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleth
Noun
-
But the images and slogans roaring across social media in this first month of the war in Iran may be something new.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
28 Mar. 2026
-
And the Cubans who believed the slogans—from either side—get nothing.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The school has banners and big names to prove its hockey pedigree, though the real evidence lies with a man called Rooster.—
John Lauritsen,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Goldberg will serve as executive producer alongside longtime collaborator Tom Leonardis under their One Ho Productions banner.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But, travel experts say, that truism doesn't apply during this tumultuous period.—
ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
-
That is a truism of NFL free agency.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Donovan reiterated a series of platitudes that haven’t changed during his time with the Bulls.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
For Hankins-Biggers and her team, espousing empty platitudes isn’t enough.—
Essence,
Essence,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The bromide has it that a liberal is a person who won’t take his own side in an argument.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
In Cuba today, Marxist bromides serve as nothing more than rhetorical cover for corruption.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Steeped in international cinema, Haghighi has since taken familiar tropes, forms, and genres and bent them in new directions.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Episode 1, for example, comes over as a political thriller with horror tropes where Prime Minister Adolfo Saúrez battles in 1976 to persuade – or bribe – a Francoist parliament to vote itself out of existence.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
By the time Szeemann was invited to organize two consecutive installments of the Venice Biennale (in 1999 and 2001), the criticism of curators’ assuming the role of meta-artists, in Szeemann’s case with quasi-shamanistic aspirations, had become a commonplace.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
-
But little things can turn the commonplace into tragedy.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The banality of her words about Ma Binney was terrible.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The scale and range of Dominique Pelicot’s partners in crime showed the terrible banality of their acts, and how easily society had allowed them.—
Gaby Wood,
Vogue,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
