variants
also cliches
as in tropes
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
try to write a love story without resorting to well-worn clichés
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Recent Examples of clichés
Brousson is an Austin resident and often posts satirical videos teasing Texas cliches and generalizations.
—
Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2026
In this section, artists Wendy Red Star, Omar Victor Diop, Yuki Kihara, Frida Orupabo, and Dimakatso Mathopa mine the tropes and cliches borne of these images, and through satire and recontextualization, offer works that center their own empowerment and subjectivity.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 10 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
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
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
Harvard may get a more empowering storyline than his florist-hairdresser-retail-clerk predecessors, but the humor is redolent of the same punishing cliches.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 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 workforce warnings, in particular, are getting louder, with a mix of smart alerts and a cacophony of cliches.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2026
In this section, artists Wendy Red Star, Omar Victor Diop, Yuki Kihara, Frida Orupabo, and Dimakatso Mathopa mine the tropes and cliches borne of these images, and through satire and recontextualization, offer works that center their own empowerment and subjectivity.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 10 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
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
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
Harvard may get a more empowering storyline than his florist-hairdresser-retail-clerk predecessors, but the humor is redolent of the same punishing cliches.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 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 workforce warnings, in particular, are getting louder, with a mix of smart alerts and a cacophony of cliches.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clichés
Noun
-
With 30 rooms, including 13 suites, all with views of the Dolomites, the interiors depart from familiar alpine tropes.—
Rachel Ingram,
Robb Report,
21 June 2026
-
In that episode, there is a very direct conversation about tropes and specifically the crazy-ex-girlfriend trope regarding Arthur’s ex, Narcissa, played by Anna Camp.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Brousson is an Austin resident and often posts satirical videos teasing Texas cliches and generalizations.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 June 2026
-
Teenagers are tested on more advanced skills, such as making generalizations from a reading passage and comparing information from charts and graphs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Victor Lindelof’s pre-match comments smacked of bombast and confidence, the sort of words which are said but not meant, platitudes used to motivate rather than to be sworn under oath.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
15 June 2026
-
What is in danger is that this will strip away the soul, the raw humanity actors like Jim Handy brough to each role and replace it with flat, generalized platitudes.—
Carl Kurlander,
Deadline,
13 June 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
-
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
-
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
-
As far back as the Victorian era, exchanging a few banalities was part of a veritable social code—a way of signaling both politeness and boundaries.—
Jeanne Ballion,
Vogue,
27 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
These slurs are not mere political insults but echo centuries-old stereotypes denying Black women's femininity and dignity, a historical burden highlighted by figures like Sojourner Truth.—
Sophia A. Nelson,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
What struck me most in Satrapi’s rendering of the veil—and of Islam itself—was her refusal to settle for the literal or flattened stereotypes that so often populate Western narratives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
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
-
While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the medieval town of Belvì, men roast chestnuts—marroni—over an open fire in a frying pan the size of a swimming pool and then serve them to the crowd by shoveling them into troughs.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
-
Canned Water Chestnuts Fresh water chestnuts, while hard to find, are sweeter and juicier than canned varieties, with a cleaner, more pronounced crunch.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clichés.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clich%C3%A9s. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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