as in cliché
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 banality
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
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
Sometimes, though, this immediacy leads to songwriting that’s literal-minded to the point of banality.
—
Zach Schonfeld,
Pitchfork,
20 Feb. 2026
Using the book as a conscious tool of image-building is a more recent phenomenon, however, leading critic Jaime Fuller to lament the banality of such tomes in his 2019 Literary Hub article.
—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for banality
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 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
Sometimes, though, this immediacy leads to songwriting that’s literal-minded to the point of banality.
—
Zach Schonfeld,
Pitchfork,
20 Feb. 2026
Using the book as a conscious tool of image-building is a more recent phenomenon, however, leading critic Jaime Fuller to lament the banality of such tomes in his 2019 Literary Hub article.
—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for banality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banality
Noun
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The president used similar bromides in private calls to assuage allies, including Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, before launching the war in February, according to people familiar with the conversations.
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Other testing by the state’s environmental quality department found elevated levels of heavy metals commonly found in oil field wastewater including barium and bromide.
Noun
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Wolff was only the eighth woman to drive a Formula 1 car (four more have done it since); the role, a now-commonplace one that includes driving the simulator during Grand Prix weekends to inform trackside strategy, was created for her.
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The videos are often integrated into larger montages of drone strikes, underscoring how commonplace these drones have become for Russian forces.
Noun
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There’s passable yet indistinguishable music in this exact style dropping every day, but the difference with Chicago’s Fatso is that his lyrics feel like scraps of conversations that communicate his hurt without leaning on platitudes.
-
Victor Lindelof’s pre-match comments smacked of bombast and confidence, the sort of words which are said but not meant, platitudes used to motivate rather than to be sworn under oath.
Noun
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This is certainly true—and a rather banal truism.
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Rick Jackson is testing that truism in his campaign for Georgia governor.
Noun
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The ‘meet cute’ is becoming a trope in how people on social media talk about romance.
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The framing often positions Clark, a white player, as fragile and in need of shielding from predominantly Black opponents, reinforcing racist tropes about Black women being overly aggressive.
Noun
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One popular saying suggests a knot tied on a rainy day is harder to untie.
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But your abhorrence of the outcomes of particular elections doesn’t justify your saying, Well, the hell with that.
Cite this Entry
“Banality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banality. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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