as in stereotyped
used or heard so often as to be dull
it's hackneyed, but true—the more you save the more you earn
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in exhausted
to use so much as to make less appealing
advertisers have hackneyed the word "revolutionary" so much that it now just means that a product is new
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hackneyed
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Trauma is not a hackneyed literary trope in the work of Miriam Toews.
—Lorrie Moore, The New York Review of Books, 4 Sep. 2025
Writer-director James Agnew’s hackneyed action-thriller is woefully short on action and thrills, and generic enough to suggest it was scripted by AI.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 27 June 2025
This hackneyed stance has turned his concert performances shrill and hollow.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hackneyed
Adjective
The story revolves around this character in ways that feel hackneyed and forced.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Trauma is not a hackneyed literary trope in the work of Miriam Toews.
—Lorrie Moore, The New York Review of Books, 4 Sep. 2025
Writer-director James Agnew’s hackneyed action-thriller is woefully short on action and thrills, and generic enough to suggest it was scripted by AI.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 27 June 2025
This hackneyed stance has turned his concert performances shrill and hollow.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hackneyed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hackneyed
Adjective
-
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
-
Several leaders described the pressure of being both highly visible and easily stereotyped.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Verb
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Montoya Sanchez said the protest was organized internally by the families exhausted by the long detention and conditions that advocates say have included food with worms, constant illness and insufficient medical access.—
Valerie Gonzalez,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
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With costs accelerating and incremental fixes exhausted, healthcare is approaching a breaking point.—
Robert Pearl,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The script is filled with tired tropes and doesn’t set up JayDee in a way that showcases his natural presence or way with words.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
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LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, is downplaying the bombshell report suggesting Los Angeles Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss has grown tired of his client.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Hideous delays and last-minute cancellations of flights have become so commonplace that airlines now advise building in a cushion of an extra day or two on each end of one’s journey.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Jan. 2026
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Increasingly common, but not commonplace Greller describes threats and hateful rhetoric as a big problem that's becoming more frequent, but not commonplace.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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So, if the idea of culture is overused, its importance tells the path to success — or failure.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
19 Jan. 2026
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Lastly, Abbas notes that, like any exfoliant, citric acid can cause dryness, irritation, or sensitivity if overused or used in very high concentrations.—
Jacqueline Kilikita,
Refinery29,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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While the series isn’t as thrilling as viewers may hope, the engaging performances and several of the less trite twists and turns work well enough.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
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To Stewart, the summary feels trite.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The rousing trailer finds Prince Adam bored to death hiding out at a generic corporate desk job on Earth when his precious sword is discovered, which sends him on a wild odyssey back to the land of Eternia and its talking tigers, spaceships, gothic castles, and magic swords.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Crews bored tunnels about 300 feet down into a suction chamber so six pumps, each with a 6-foot diameter, can pull water up from the 2-mile tunnel.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Only a few years after her 21st birthday extravaganza, Paris Hilton had been overexposed.—
Serena Turner,
Vanity Fair,
29 Dec. 2025
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Film, even if it’s overexposed, underexposed, or correctly exposed, has a unique quality to it.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hackneyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hackneyed. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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