1
as in normal
being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events
a commonplace occurrence
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ubiquitous
often observed or encountered
the large corporate mergers that have become commonplace
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3
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
a thriller that uses the commonplace plot twist of the evil twin
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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"
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of commonplace
Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Here, the senator was passively alluding to environmental injustices, which were commonplace in the 1970s and long before then.
—Jerel Ezell, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024
Neumann was a lifelong social democrat whose writings evince neither sympathy for Soviet communism nor any whiff of the fellow-traveling commonplace among radicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
—William E. Scheuerman, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2013
See All Example Sentences for commonplace
Adjective
Harfleur to Hamburg: Five Centuries of English and British Violence in Europe
Edited by D. J. B. Trim and Brendan Simms
For millennia, brutal acts of mass violence against enemy soldiers and civilians were commonplace.
—Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Here, the senator was passively alluding to environmental injustices, which were commonplace in the 1970s and long before then.
—Jerel Ezell, Time, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
Tour ’74 was Dylan’s first-ever arena tour—a rock commonplace by 1974 that had not even been imaginable in 1966.
—Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024
Neumann was a lifelong social democrat whose writings evince neither sympathy for Soviet communism nor any whiff of the fellow-traveling commonplace among radicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
—William E. Scheuerman, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2013
See All Example Sentences for commonplace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonplace
Adjective
-
Telling investors what’s coming is a normal part of doing business.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
4 May 2025
-
Don’t resume normal brushing or flossing without your provider’s consent.—
Mark Gurarie,
Health,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
This is story about untangling the mysteries as to why something so ubiquitous – and seemingly endless – could be on the cusp of disappearing entirely.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
13 May 2025
-
Beyond the fact that using AI tools to write is generally frowned upon and considered to be unethical, AI writing has become so ubiquitous that using AI or modeling one’s work off of it is a surefire way to make your materials blend into a sea of other cookie-cutter essays.—
Christopher Rim,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Noun
-
The old cliche about a blind squirrel seems apropos for this group.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Things get better and worse and better, happier and sadder and so on, as the couple travels through eight episodes of mostly ordinary drama — jealousy and insecurity, mopiness and mooniness, desolation and elation, miscommunication and reconciliation — on the way to maturity.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
-
The royal family joined the 1,800-strong congregation in a national two-minute silence to reflect on and remember the sacrifices and heroism of the armed forces and the stoicism of ordinary people during the war.—
Simon Perry,
People.com,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
Jam-packed with his absurd self-aware humor, the finale deviates from the show’s usual slapstick raunch with a rare tender moment between Jesse and his equally crude siblings, Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
4 May 2025
-
Edman went through his usual pregame workout Friday at Truist Park, hoping to return to the lineup on Saturday.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
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
Adjective
-
Social Security payments are set to go out May 14 – a few days later than is typical.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
15 May 2025
-
However, the typical analyst expects shares to slide from here.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
This is perhaps a good quality, as that is a familiar feeling when attending a large event.—
Matt Shaw,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
-
The looks on display were all too familiar, making the joke even that much funnier for its sense of radical honesty.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
4 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commonplace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonplace. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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