as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
the play's dialogue featured all of the groaners that seem to be de rigueur for any dysfunctional-family drama
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Recent Examples of groaner
Those pacing blips aren’t the only groaners.
—
Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groaner
Noun
-
Fourth walls are shattered, hoary tropes are dismantled, the body count climbs and a joke gets thrown in about the endless supply of Wayanses ready to keep the franchise going.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
But in our universe, just over a year ago, Lineker shared an Instagram post about Zionism that featured an emoji of a rat, an antisemitic trope.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Spain’s success over the past five years has undermined many long-standing political-economic truisms.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
-
His deep arsenal gives him a chance to handle a truism of the craft.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The second was that, along with the platitudes about resilience, attendees were unusually honest about the Gulf’s predicament.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
4 June 2026
-
Not the word kindness, not the platitudes.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Wolff was only the eighth woman to drive a Formula 1 car (four more have done it since); the role, a now-commonplace one that includes driving the simulator during Grand Prix weekends to inform trackside strategy, was created for her.—
Danielle McNally,
InStyle,
28 May 2026
-
The videos are often integrated into larger montages of drone strikes, underscoring how commonplace these drones have become for Russian forces.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
But the saying can also apply in the traditional sense, explaining that favoritism, and biases, are a part of life, society, business and sport, and everyone must find a way to play the hand they are dealt.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
-
Age and guile, as the old saying goes, beat youth and skill every time.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In the last few decades, that swagger seems to have collapsed under the weight of a tepid banality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Groaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groaner. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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