as in clichés
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonplaces
Noun
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Between jokes about research funding and the scientific questions that might arise upon spotting a fuzzy pink Tyrannosaurus rex on a strange planet, Lemming uses her protagonist, Dory, to poke fun at romance tropes and graduate student woes alike.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026 -
Originally opened in 2023, Under the Cover sells a variety of romance books in wide variety of spice levels and tropes.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee
February 13,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Kemp does warn his readers to be skeptical of truisms about the nature of history and the odds of apocalypse.—
Linda Kinstler,
The Atlantic,
1 Dec. 2025
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But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Many use cases are still being deployed or piloted, and the agency’s AI database is filled with jargon and platitudes that, in many instances, can be interpreted in multiple ways.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
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Google is famous for dodging questions by reciting platitudes on its calls.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That these sayings are meant to reflect something both deep and asinine about the film itself is self-evident.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 Feb. 2026
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Today, the writings come in the form of cards and sweet sayings on candy.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Despite their clear affection for these women, the Dardenne brothers never sugarcoat their characters’ unenviable circumstance or latch onto phony bromides to alleviate our anxiety.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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There is a reason why the apocalyptic bromides about the state of print haven’t come to fruition, other than for disposable periodicals and newspapers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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For nine months, Erasmus spent his short nights in a modest dorm and his long days in the print shop, expanding on his collection of proverbs Adagiorum chiliades while Aldus proofread, craftsman carefully laying sets of print and rolling paper through the press.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
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Includes quirky facts, adages, advice, quotes and proverbs, as well as articles about mistletoe, bird nests, perennials, timekeeping, recipes and more.—
Alex Perry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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One programmer joked that his early sketches of the Goombas looked like chestnuts— kuri in Japanese, which is why Goombas are known in Japan as kuribo.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Feb. 2026
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Nuts Many nuts, including walnuts, pecans, chestnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds, are rich in polyphenols.—
Lindsey DeSoto,
Health,
27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Commonplaces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonplaces. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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