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Definition of commonplacenext
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as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people the familiar summertime commonplace that "It's not the heat, it's the humidity"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 commonplace
Adjective
Metallic silhouettes are commonplace for celebrities, especially musicians, since they can easily be seen on stage. — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026 Independent fire districts, which are commonplace elsewhere, would be one option if the Legislature agreed. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
Noun
Or is this commonplace in NBA transactions? — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 3 May 2026 In the early 2000s, Sears began to use its website — the new iteration of its catalog — to help pioneer the now-commonplace practices of buying goods online and picking them up in store. — Domenica Bongiovanni, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for commonplace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonplace
Adjective
  • After The Dick Van Dyke Show wrapped, Matthews returned to a normal childhood life and attended UCLA.
    — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Vertical speeds during normal operations rarely exceed plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, FlightRadar24 said.
    — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Amy Williams’ production design looks as expensive as the leads, and composer Volker Bertelmann — even more ubiquitous than Hathaway in the movies this year — throws in some zithery Bernard Herrmann stylings.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • There’s a fragmented culture where all corners of the entertainment world are struggling to produce new versions of the sort of ubiquitous, four-quadrant successes that consumers recall as regular occurrences in earlier decades.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Despite their outer appearances and oftentimes stereotyped personalities, the ladies embrace each other’s depths and contradictions.
    — Meagan Jordan, VIBE.com, 10 July 2026
  • 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
Noun
  • With all the hype surrounding potential uses of AI tools, this is a truism that too often gets forgotten.
    — Bryan Mistele, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Wars cannot be fought on ideology alone – a truism that perhaps led to the firebrand former defense minister’s departure, after months of clashes and refusing to deal with the army top brass, as Zelensky describes it.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Georgia Power estimates this system will deliver 900 million dollars in net savings for ordinary customers over the working life of the reactors.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Kyiv argued the warehouses held dual-use goods, and that hitting them would impose an immediate cost on ordinary Russians, who would pressure the Kremlin to end the war.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • My task was to comment on which might be most palatable—or least offensive—to the fair’s usual client base.
    — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • There were three meltdowns close together that were worse than usual.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • For serious gear collectors tired of pocket clutter and dark backpack voids, this clever mobile workstation is a genuinely smart, highly functional evolution.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Common symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, gasping for air during the night, and waking up feeling tired.
    — Lindsay Curtis, HEALTH, 27 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • There’s so much premeditation and passion into doing that, and to actually play that with no music and just the sound and the banality of a lifeless body being hit by some blunt instrument is very viscerally upsetting.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Commonplace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonplace. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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