platitudes

noun

plural of platitude
as in clichés
an idea or expression that has been used by many people "blondes have more fun" is a silly platitude

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 platitudes Hughes offered the usual interview platitudes and seemed to be pleased with how his team was playing. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Because the story lines are facile fakes, because the characters are blanked out, the substance of relationships is reduced to dialogue of generalities and platitudes. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026 The quarterback usually speaks in emotionless platitudes during news conferences. — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026 By platitudes like a peaceful and dignified death and silly words like natural. — Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026 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 Today, Instagram unveiled a refresh of its wordmark, accompanied by the usual bland corporate platitudes these kinds of announcements are always packaged with. — Aurich Lawson, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026 Not everybody needs to spend the rest of their life totally abstinent with a cup of shitty coffee in a Styrofoam cup regurgitating platitudes. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for platitudes
  1. bromides
  2. banalities
  3. truisms
  4. sayings
  5. tropes
Noun
  • The president used similar bromides in private calls to assuage allies, including Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, before launching the war in February, according to people familiar with the conversations.
    — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
  • While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Definition of bromides
Noun
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
  • And even though access to such banalities may sound brain-deadening, and at best dull, some of the most famous people in the world are now live-streamers.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of banalities
Noun
  • Spain’s success over the past five years has undermined many long-standing political-economic truisms.
    — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
  • The play isn’t subtle; the final sequence leans hard on truisms about addiction and trauma, which are affecting but overly explicit.
    — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
Definition of truisms
Noun
  • Well, ‘It’s been emotional’ has become one of the British icon sayings of movie history, which is fantastic.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026
  • As part of their annual Halloween decor drop, Anthropologie released Halloween bistro tile items that blend classic motifs and sayings with the Bistro Tile Collection’s Parisian style.
    — Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of sayings
Noun
  • Diaz centers music as the emotional vehicle that provides a philosophical structure for the character tropes and in turn psychologically seduces the audience to internalize certain ideas of social dynamics.
    — Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Serious life moments aside, the show can’t resist treating these two as a classic sitcom couple and play up the requisite tropes.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of tropes

Browse Nearby Words

platitude
platitudes
platitudinal
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Cite this Entry

“Platitudes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/platitudes. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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