variants
also cliche
as in stereotyped
used or heard so often as to be dull
a cliché tale of lust and betrayal among the fabulously rich
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also cliche
as in generalization
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
try to write a love story without resorting to well-worn clichés
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cliché
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 Mar. 2026
The dialogue is overladen with snicker-worthy cliches, a swelling, melodramatic soundtrack that doesn’t match the mood, dubious cameos and plastic, perfunctory life-affirming quotes.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Playing to the occasion Time for some of the cliches.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Hedda’s romantic picture — of Lovborg dying magnificently, with Dionysian vine leaves in his hairs, from a bullet of one of her own guns — smacks of the same literary cliches that has Emma fantasizing about a torchlight wedding at midnight.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
Lines can be set for how many political cliches Trump uses, the number of interruptions from the audience, the total times a person is shown on camera, etc.
—James Powel, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Haleakala National Park, Hawaii Is fleeing to Hawaii to escape winter a cliche?
—Graham Averill, Outside, 23 Feb. 2026
His voice waxed poetic about Louisiana and its beauty while also critiquing the cliches rendered as the only acceptable terms to discuss a place that exceeds description.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
What sports or politics cliche resonates the most with you?
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 16 Feb. 2026
Noun
Nautical influence runs through the merchandise without tipping into cliche.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 17 Mar. 2026
The dialogue is overladen with snicker-worthy cliches, a swelling, melodramatic soundtrack that doesn’t match the mood, dubious cameos and plastic, perfunctory life-affirming quotes.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026
Playing to the occasion Time for some of the cliches.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Hedda’s romantic picture — of Lovborg dying magnificently, with Dionysian vine leaves in his hairs, from a bullet of one of her own guns — smacks of the same literary cliches that has Emma fantasizing about a torchlight wedding at midnight.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
Lines can be set for how many political cliches Trump uses, the number of interruptions from the audience, the total times a person is shown on camera, etc.
—James Powel, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Haleakala National Park, Hawaii Is fleeing to Hawaii to escape winter a cliche?
—Graham Averill, Outside, 23 Feb. 2026
His voice waxed poetic about Louisiana and its beauty while also critiquing the cliches rendered as the only acceptable terms to discuss a place that exceeds description.
—Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026
What sports or politics cliche resonates the most with you?
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliché
Adjective
-
Kelly Enders-Tharp, a three-time surrogate and education and experience specialist at Growing Generations, explains that surrogates are often stereotyped, or that their backgrounds are misrepresented.—
Kris Ann Valdez,
Parents,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Later, Lenape artist Joe Baker places cutout photographs of his ancestors over the stereotyped images of Native Americans found in the wallpaper.—
Tom McDonough,
Artforum,
1 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The primary limitation lies in generalization, the ability of robots to perform reliably across diverse, unpredictable environments.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Meanwhile, recent advancements in multimodal AI (models that can process multiple types of information, like visual and audio at once) are improving robots’ generalization capabilities for everyday tasks.—
Eric Schmidt,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
They have been seen directing snaking security lines and passing out water bottles to tired travelers.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Step in when someone’s tired or needs a break.—
Chris John Amorosino,
Hartford Courant,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Donovan reiterated a series of platitudes that haven’t changed during his time with the Bulls.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
For Hankins-Biggers and her team, espousing empty platitudes isn’t enough.—
Essence,
Essence,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Wise knew that these hackneyed tools would get him nowhere.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Few parents can follow the hackneyed wisdom of living in the moment.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That is a truism of NFL free agency.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
The second thing that strikes me more and actually amazes me is the fact that this is a story, a trope, that is repeated in most of the presentation of Agnes Pockels.—
Mariel Carr,
Scientific American,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Combining the tropes of the superhero genre with the police procedural genre, Powers follows two Chicago homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who work in cases involving super powers.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Lines and other extended objects seem to be commonplace and even expected in QFT, which ostensibly describes pointlike objects.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Although commonly associated with the visual arts, anonymity is commonplace in other disciplines, including music, with formerly anonymous stars including Australian singer Sia and French electronic duo Daft Pank.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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