as in clichés
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
another sitcom based on the banality of roommates with opposite personalities
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Recent Examples of banalities
One effect of this austerity and repression is to focus attention on Albee’s language, with its slippery banalities and barbs.
—
Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
As far back as the Victorian era, exchanging a few banalities was part of a veritable social code—a way of signaling both politeness and boundaries.
—Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2025
Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
As far back as the Victorian era, exchanging a few banalities was part of a veritable social code—a way of signaling both politeness and boundaries.
—Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2025
Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banalities
Noun
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Neville is smart enough as a documentarian to leave out platitudes, but also to let access to Michaels’ Maine retreat be a vibe rather than some knockout reveal.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
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But for UConn, the platitudes feel profoundly honest.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
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Disruption without construction Instructors burned out with the current situation endure a barrage of repetitive bromides.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The play isn’t subtle; the final sequence leans hard on truisms about addiction and trauma, which are affecting but overly explicit.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
20 Feb. 2026
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One of the truisms in the past for Team Canada at some best-on-best events is needing a few games to find its game.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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These are, in fact, common tropes of fiction going at least as far back as Bernard Malamud’s novel The Natural.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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Buddy embraces the aesthetic of classic children’s television —complete with catchy songs and familiar tropes — before subverting it with a relentless descent into madness.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His daughter, Lisa Rodriguez, said he was known for his loud sense of style — his favorite shirt had a rainbow tiger on it — and his funny sayings.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
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The chef wrote around 40 sayings and gathered more from his Instagram followers.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Banalities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banalities. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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