as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
"blondes have more fun" is a silly platitude
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of platitude
Survivors need concrete safety and justice, not spiritual platitudes.
—
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
My first true attempts at poetry were self-guided, painfully rhymed, drenched in abstractions and exhausted platitudes.
—Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
His answers, typically, differ by just a few words and a few platitudes.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Nonetheless, commonplace platitudes about honor and bravery take precedence over the feminist undertones Wyatt may aspire to.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for platitude
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
My first true attempts at poetry were self-guided, painfully rhymed, drenched in abstractions and exhausted platitudes.
—Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
His answers, typically, differ by just a few words and a few platitudes.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Nonetheless, commonplace platitudes about honor and bravery take precedence over the feminist undertones Wyatt may aspire to.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for platitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for platitude
Noun
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One truism in Latin American politics is that nearly every revolt is fueled by the frustration of junior army officers.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 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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Doping the Undopable The work focuses on cesium lead bromide nanoparticles known as CsPbBr3.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Dec. 2025
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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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Openness comes from these encounters with banality and consistency.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
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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
Noun
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In the last year, after all, heartrending images like these have become part of the ordinary, the everyday, the commonplace.—
Leonard Pitts Jr,
Miami Herald,
1 Jan. 2026
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But in between these commonplace alerts are empty spaces people wake into as to a sort of apnea.—
David Searcy,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
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There is so much pleasure to be had in rereading old favorites—and part of the joy is meeting beloved characters, who have been updated or somehow arrive in a new form to resist old tropes and types.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
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The other one that happens to me more regularly is seeing common tropes or scenarios from the media and tipping them just slightly on their side.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Turnovers come in bunches, the saying goes.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
4 Jan. 2026
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Kids can be cruel, as the old saying goes.—
Dr. Mahvash Madni,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Platitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/platitude. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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