Definition of groanernext
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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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 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 Scott performs on the track like a bizarro Young Thug, incapable of wringing any enthusiasm out of his voice, and delivers some egregious groaner punchlines, while Drake continues to burrow into narcissism. Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groaner
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Yudkowsky took such tropes of rebellion and rule-breaking and built a philosophical apparatus around them.
    Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Moodley’s comedy The Kandasamys drew on similar South African Indian family tropes.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Sep. 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
Noun
  • Running parallel to this butchery investigation is the arrival of perpetually hungover FBI agent Gwen Birgssen, played by British actress Lily James with an incomprehensible southern drawl and some clunky platitudes that veer into genre parody.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
  • In between some of the manager’s more clip-worthy quotes, there were more of his usual — and not incorrect — platitudes.
    Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • Alas, poor Bryan is about to learn the hard way that change — as the saying goes — is as hard to outrun as an ever-growing zombie rat king with 37 different limbs and a weirdly personal vendetta.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
  • As the saying goes, anything is possible under the Friday Night Lights.
    Staff report, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, when a person live-streams long enough, banality can eventually give way to horror.
    Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Groaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groaner. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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