CHESTNUT Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

chestnut

noun

ˈches(t)-(ˌ)nət

Definition of chestnut

as in bromide

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

profundity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chestnut

Noun

The team used a mixture of zinc chloride and lithium bromide salts to dissolve the cellulose.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026
The fire contained compounds from more than two dozen chemical families, including dangerous amounts of bromide, a naturally occurring element that can irritate the skin and mucus membranes.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of bromide

Noun

By using two mediums to highlight the warm absurdity of the fairy-tale tropes, Enchanted cheekily celebrates what only animation can do.

— James Grebey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Briefly combining the friend groups makes for a rollicking start, and Season 2 keeps spirits high by leaning on a stockpile of sitcom tropes.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of trope

Noun

Wars cannot be fought on ideology alone – a truism that perhaps led to the firebrand former defense minister’s departure, after months of clashes and refusing to deal with the army top brass, as Zelensky describes it.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
But most politicians are pretty easily replaced, a truism that Moreno reinforced by going public.

— Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of truism

Noun

In the second game of Monday’s doubleheader, Marmol showed his words weren’t just platitudes, pitching to Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz to start the bottom of the 10th inning with the automatic runner on second and first base open.

— C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Today, Instagram unveiled a refresh of its wordmark, accompanied by the usual bland corporate platitudes these kinds of announcements are always packaged with.

— Aurich Lawson, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of platitude

Noun

But there is a saying in the military that leadership sets the tone, and when the most senior leaders are flippant at best, and cruel at worst, many will understand that to be the permissible standard.

— Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
There’s an old saying in football that the best gig is that of the assistant coach.

— JOE DAVIDSON, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of saying

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

chesterfields

chestnut

chestnuts

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chestnut. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of chestnut

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on chestnut

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

kith

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes