cliché 1 of 2

variants also cliche

cliché

2 of 2

noun

variants also cliche

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of cliché
Noun
All while staying far, far away from the tropes and cliches associated with your typical medical drama. Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025 His candor bucks convention, running against the constant cliches or coachspeak from his counterparts. Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025 During his two-minute tribute, Dr. Robby — who’s suffering from acute existential exhaustion on top of the day’s extra-fine grind — falls back on a handful of cliches. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Apr. 2025 The song, the first disco hit and an indelible gay anthem, here feels like a pandering cliche. Christian Lewis, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025 However, and forgive the cliche, but GenAI tools are evolving so fast that what got your organization here won’t get it there. Clint Boulton, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025 Although spring training is the time for even the most downtrodden of teams to speak optimistically, the way that the Angels talk about Fasano goes beyond the normal cliches. Jeff Fletcher, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2025 Because of that opposite cliche: Spring evaluations are really hard. Tim Britton, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025 Some criticize the use of tropes as leaning on cliches or lacking originality, but tropes are as old as storytelling itself. Denise Williams, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliché
Adjective
  • Their negative stereotyped reputation seems to follow them like ageism follows older employees or sexism follows female employees.
    Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025
  • At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.
    Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • While such generalizations have historically been used to demonize enemies, there is still a contrived tendency to divide the world into land and sea powers.
    Colin Flint, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Rather than jumping right in with accusations or sweeping generalizations, the goal is instead to frame your concerns in a way that prompts conversation—not combat.
    Mark Travers, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • At this point in the Trump show, the famously unpredictable president seems to be following a script as tired as any other long-running, low-brow procedural.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2025
  • Back in the 1970s, my aunt and uncle had tired of the era’s standard foreign-vacation fare—Western Europe, the Caribbean—and decided to venture somewhat farther afield.
    Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • Inconsistency is to be expected, especially after injury and so few meaningful minutes for the first team, but the positive words are not just easy platitudes: he is genuinely considered to apply himself well in training and present himself with professionalism.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025
  • However, too often, sales kickoffs fall short of their potential, becoming mere exercises in rote presentations and motivational platitudes.
    Anjai Lal, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Its baleful guitar and hackneyed vocals make the average doubts shared by everyone who has ever been in love seem generic.
    Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The movie’s a little more hackneyed and obvious now, but its central idea is still an undeniably creepy one: possessed children with pitchforks.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • All the players corroborate a truism: Politics attracts deformed personalities featuring an insatiable lust of power for the sake of power to fuel self-esteem.
    Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2025
  • Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Escala Forma Miami’s tropical tropes are all used at once, and to great effect, within this living room by local studio Escala Forma.
    Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 28 Apr. 2025
  • The first half is telling the love story that on the surface it’s meant to be about, which draws people in — using all of the tropes of romantic stories at the pop culture level.
    Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • VanDerveer doesn’t expect Stanford to be in the running for prospects demanding high seven-figure salaries, which has become commonplace in the SEC and Big Ten.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • By early evening, with the sun sinking and power still out for most of Spain and Portugal, camaraderie became commonplace.
    Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 11 May. 2025.

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