as in imitative
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
critics faulted the novel for having a painfully unoriginal plot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 unoriginal
In sales, trust is currency, and nothing burns trust faster than sounding unoriginal, lazy or shady.
—
Don Markland, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
If your content is flagged as unoriginal or spammy, Facebook may stop showing it in people's feeds.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2025
However, YouTube clarified that the policy change is aimed at curbing unoriginal, spammy and repetitive videos.
—Zach Vallese, CNBC, 14 July 2025
These are deeply unoriginal ideas about the future.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Don Markland, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
If your content is flagged as unoriginal or spammy, Facebook may stop showing it in people's feeds.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2025
However, YouTube clarified that the policy change is aimed at curbing unoriginal, spammy and repetitive videos.
—Zach Vallese, CNBC, 14 July 2025
These are deeply unoriginal ideas about the future.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unoriginal
Adjective
-
Since then, whenever new tools to crank out communications have become available, somebody has flooded the zone with the fastest, most imitative material that could garner attention.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
8 Nov. 2025
-
It may be borrowed or coined, named after a person, inspired by a place or imitative of a sound.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Typically in times of geopolitical turmoil, analysts look to the past for precedents and templates, but history is idiosyncratic, not formulaic.—
Paul Swartz,
Harvard Business Review,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Of course, formulaic crime dramas can be comforting.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unoriginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unoriginal. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
