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
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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
Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
But for Maria Poveromo, a soon-to-be Woodbridge High School graduate, some academic cliches still ring true.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 29 May 2026
This setup could be cliche territory, but not in this telling.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Club Kid runs right up to and then darts around so many potential cliches in a way that’s really satisfying.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 26 May 2026
The writing and the acting boldly flirt with cliche and caricature, which, as the show is about 100% pastiche, drawn from films more than three-quarters of a century old, could scarcely be avoided and isn’t really a problem.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026
Sure, Josh’s seasonal arc becomes finding a new mate before the next hibernation, but the episodic stories soon settle into all-too-familiar rom-com cliches, without enough contrast from the animal’s POV to provide much enlightenment for the human audience.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
Every Mother’s Day, politicians spout cliches celebrating all that moms do for our families.
—Nicole Varma, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 May 2026
The Flyers learned over games 4, 5 and 6 that the old cliche of the fourth game being the hardest to win is, in fact, usually the case.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Noun
Wednesday’s Game 1 of runs epitomized the cliche of basketball.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
But for Maria Poveromo, a soon-to-be Woodbridge High School graduate, some academic cliches still ring true.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 29 May 2026
This setup could be cliche territory, but not in this telling.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Club Kid runs right up to and then darts around so many potential cliches in a way that’s really satisfying.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 26 May 2026
The writing and the acting boldly flirt with cliche and caricature, which, as the show is about 100% pastiche, drawn from films more than three-quarters of a century old, could scarcely be avoided and isn’t really a problem.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026
Sure, Josh’s seasonal arc becomes finding a new mate before the next hibernation, but the episodic stories soon settle into all-too-familiar rom-com cliches, without enough contrast from the animal’s POV to provide much enlightenment for the human audience.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
Every Mother’s Day, politicians spout cliches celebrating all that moms do for our families.
—Nicole Varma, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 May 2026
The Flyers learned over games 4, 5 and 6 that the old cliche of the fourth game being the hardest to win is, in fact, usually the case.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliché
Adjective
-
This is a directed, stereotyped behavior in which the highest-resolution region of the somatosensory surface is brought to bear on the object requiring the most detailed analysis.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
In some cases, praise took on overtly stereotyped forms: words like 'love' were used disproportionately with female students, while 'powerful' appeared only for Black students.—
Rachel del Guidice,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Of course, if the AI does generalize, the difficulty is that the AI generalizations about mental health might be off base.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Start with an abstract generalization of the integers called a ring.—
Konstantin Kakaes,
Quanta Magazine,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
If tired, float or tread water until out of the rip current.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 June 2026
-
The Ukrainian president also said the majority of Russians had grown tired of missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages, and were ready for peace.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The process is so slow that a City Council committee held a hearing earlier this month essentially to turn up the heat on administration officials, who offered no explanation for the molasses-like contracting process other than platitudes.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
The public backing from members of the squad for Carrick has been pronounced, beyond the usual platitudes of players supporting their manager.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Adjective
-
Maybe so, but think of how badly Congress had stated those hackneyed ideas.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
While not exactly a feminist screed, the script grants nary a free pass to the glut of hackneyed gender conventions in the golden-age canon without at least cracking a joke.—
Naveen Kumar,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Spain’s success over the past five years has undermined many long-standing political-economic truisms.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
-
His deep arsenal gives him a chance to handle a truism of the craft.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The science fiction film trope of the passionate astronomer monitoring radio telescopes in search of transmissions from an extraterrestrial intelligence, then actually hearing one, seems cliché today after decades of overuse.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
-
In one specific case, that spy movie trope became all too real when Pierce Brosnan had to save Halle Berry on the set of Die Another Day (2002).—
Skyler Trepel,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
While statistics suggest that Bass has made headway on homelessness, makeshift encampments and rows of rusting RVs remain commonplace across the city.—
MIchael R. Blood,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
-
Or visits from high-profile teams like the Yankees and MVPs like Judge — or Shohei Ohtani, whose Los Angeles Dodgers come to Sacramento at the end of June — will become commonplace, with 81 regular season home games a year on the shore of the Sacramento River.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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