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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chestnut
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.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026 -
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.—
Nick Bowlin,
ProPublica,
18 May 2026
Noun
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What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Fourth walls are shattered, hoary tropes are dismantled, the body count climbs and a joke gets thrown in about the endless supply of Wayanses ready to keep the franchise going.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
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But in our universe, just over a year ago, Lineker shared an Instagram post about Zionism that featured an emoji of a rat, an antisemitic trope.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Spain’s success over the past five years has undermined many long-standing political-economic truisms.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
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His deep arsenal gives him a chance to handle a truism of the craft.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
Noun
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The second was that, along with the platitudes about resilience, attendees were unusually honest about the Gulf’s predicament.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
4 June 2026
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Not the word kindness, not the platitudes.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Noun
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In the last few decades, that swagger seems to have collapsed under the weight of a tepid banality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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But the saying can also apply in the traditional sense, explaining that favoritism, and biases, are a part of life, society, business and sport, and everyone must find a way to play the hand they are dealt.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
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Age and guile, as the old saying goes, beat youth and skill every time.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
4 June 2026
Noun
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But a new shibboleth has seized the day.—
Bruce Stockler,
Fortune,
5 Apr. 2026
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The director scores easy laughs off of modern-day progressive shibboleths such as gender-fluid pronouns, trigger warnings and Native American land acknowledgments.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Houston Chronicle,
25 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chestnut. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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