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Definition of commonplacenext
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commonplace

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noun

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
In the mid-1980s, one of his El Toro teams traveled to Pennsylvania for a national spotlight game, which are now commonplace on the high school scene. Dan Albano, Oc Register, 12 Mar. 2026 Multi-factor authentication is also supported, which is commonplace in the backup category. Justin Pot, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
Noun
But in between these commonplace alerts are empty spaces people wake into as to a sort of apnea. David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025 Plot details are under wraps, but that's commonplace for a Perkins project. Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for commonplace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonplace
Adjective
  • James turned forty-one at the end of that month, an age at which many people start to notice the normal degeneration of their tendons and joints.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
  • The start of the day seemed very normal to me.
    Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Now, the demand is only expected to increase as data centers become increasingly ubiquitous in society.
    Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
    Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Kelly Enders-Tharp, a three-time surrogate and education and experience specialist at Growing Generations, explains that surrogates are often stereotyped, or that their backgrounds are misrepresented.
    Kris Ann Valdez, Parents, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Later, Lenape artist Joe Baker places cutout photographs of his ancestors over the stereotyped images of Native Americans found in the wallpaper.
    Tom McDonough, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Many Catholic theologians believe that ordinary care and treatment such as feeding tubes, on the other hand, should be continued.
    Robert S. Olick, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Send no one back to Congress who will not commit to tax reform benefiting ordinary Americans.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Staffing shortages have forced some travelers to build in significantly more time before flights – sometimes hours more than usual.
    Nathan Diller, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026
  • February 19 – March 20 Home is where the heart is — that’s even more true than usual.
    Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • It’s been this way for far too long in the Bay State where independent voters are growing tired of this old act.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Sami’s hair and beard were gray, and his thick eyebrows arched over his tired walnut eyes.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • That is a truism of NFL free agency.
    Daniel Popper, New York Times, 9 Mar. 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
Adjective
  • In early 2019 and in late 2025, two federal government shutdowns ended shortly after travel disruptions escalated following higher-than-typical absences of air traffic controllers.
    Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
  • The education budget in a typical year is about a third of the city’s total financial plan, which has historically failed to account for actual spending.
    Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Commonplace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonplace. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.

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