as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people An op-ed piece that offers nothing but warmed-over chestnuts for solving the city's financial woes.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chestnut
Noun
  • That mantra, a cliche one around college football and sports in general, is magnified now for the Hurricanes (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) given Miami’s standing.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Really, the cliche stems from World Cup 1982 in Spain.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Exposure to chemical warfare agents—such as nerve gas—or to pyridostigmine bromide, a drug given to soldiers as a preventive measure against chemical attacks, may have played a role.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • There is an outright rejection of bromides that would give us some conclusion of reassurance.
    Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The lyrics, some inspired by proverbs and biblical passages, convey the fervor of his first love with God, without losing his personal touch.
    Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2025
  • His tale has become a proverb for any outdoor fanatic who, despite all of the proper planning and preparation, is undone by forces more powerful than him or herself.
    Frederick Dreier, Outside, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Such is the brilliance of Wes Craven’s self-aware spin on serial-killer tropes, which manages to both mock a generation of teenagers raised on the campy likes of Friday the 13th and deliver honest scares in its own right.
    The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025
  • But of course, like all good enemies-to-lover tropes, Clarke and Lexa were forced to put aside their differences to save their people — and ultimately fell in love.
    Catherine Mhloyi, Them., 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
  • One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Continue reading … BLIND LOYALTY – Karine Jean-Pierre has rocky rollout for book as reviews pan Biden defense, platitudes.
    , FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Survivors need concrete safety and justice, not spiritual platitudes.
    Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Evil is aided and abetted by the banality of institutions and their functionaries.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
  • This punishing process, thread by thread, inch by inch, keeps luridness from sinking into banality.
    Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • But as the saying goes, the best ability is availability, and Ertz has proven to be one of the most frequently available and productive tight ends in the history of the sport.
    Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
  • As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.
    Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chestnut. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on chestnut

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!