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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of clichés
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
There’s a reason for the myriad cliches in baseball.
—Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Matching furniture sets and too-small rugs are living room cliches to avoid.
—Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 13 Apr. 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
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
There’s a reason for the myriad cliches in baseball.
—Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Matching furniture sets and too-small rugs are living room cliches to avoid.
—Sarah Lyon, The Spruce, 13 Apr. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clichés
Noun
-
The 4/4 pulse that runs through much of the album comes without any house or techno tropes.—
Will Lynch,
Pitchfork,
11 May 2026
-
Gilbert — who seven years ago headlined this venue himself — smoked a cigar and dipped tobacco simultaneously for much of his set, which luxuriated in country-music-concert tropes.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
There’s a false perception in pop music that the best way to connect with the masses is to keep things broad — that vague generalizations are easier for people to latch onto.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 May 2026
-
Parachute Journalism Parachute journalism refers to the practice of briefly visiting a location, observing limited aspects of it, and subsequently producing articles that may rely on broad generalizations about the destination.—
Suzanne Dundas,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The lyrics—elsewhere evocative—wilt dramatically, a slurry of platitudes.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Neville is smart enough as a documentarian to leave out platitudes, but also to let access to Michaels’ Maine retreat be a vibe rather than some knockout reveal.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
One of the truisms in the past for Team Canada at some best-on-best events is needing a few games to find its game.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
12 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
-
But the negative stereotypes persisted, which Levine attributes to selective readings of the New Testament and a lack of knowledge of first-century Jewish history.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
6 May 2026
-
From ‘Jim Crow’ to ‘authentically’ Black In my view, the willingness of courts to accept rap lyrics as evidence emerges from popular entertainment’s long-standing deployment of negative stereotypes about Black people.—
A.D. Carson,
The Conversation,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Disruption without construction Instructors burned out with the current situation endure a barrage of repetitive bromides.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, chia, and flax are rich in magnesium and omega-3s, helping to support nervous-system and hormonal balance.—
Mélanie Defouilloy,
Vogue,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clichés.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clich%C3%A9s. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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