1
as in slogan
an attention-getting word or phrase used to publicize something (as a campaign or product)
we knew that their claim of giving "the best deal in town" was just a shibboleth
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2
as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
there's a lot of truth in the shibboleth that if you give some people an inch, they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of shibboleth
As far back as 2015, when all of Washington was under the influence of unfettered free-trade shibboleths, Trump warned about the dangers of economic dependencies, built up over decades of liberalization, that could be exploited for geopolitical leverage.
—
Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
Nothing is sacrificed to the shibboleth of good taste.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Far from being a shibboleth of evil, the company is like any other trying to turn a profit in the Western world in 2023, which comes with its own issues and frustrations separate from the ones posited by Kristof in his viral article.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Andrew Byers, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
Nothing is sacrificed to the shibboleth of good taste.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Far from being a shibboleth of evil, the company is like any other trying to turn a profit in the Western world in 2023, which comes with its own issues and frustrations separate from the ones posited by Kristof in his viral article.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleth
Noun
-
Museums educate citizens, not through slogans, but through context.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The slogans are simple, intimate, needy, and impossible to avoid.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Mentality is the critical factor here because, as the cliche goes, the defining feature of any champion team is securing victory in the face of adversity or underperformance.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
The same was true of the Dutch squad, and such situations have become something of a World Cup cliche, but in 1974 this was considered novel, and a sign that the sport had become overrun by financial interests, even at international level.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The alert lists the products' names, UPC numbers, sizes, sell-through dates, store banner names and states for the affected products.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Season 1 star Gyllenhaal executive produces under his Nine Stories banner.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Vance and Miller spoke as if this were a truism.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
There is an outright rejection of bromides that would give us some conclusion of reassurance.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Blood testing showed a bromide level that was hundreds of times above normal.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Even if the plot is slightly predictable, there's no denying the inherent fun in watching a Stranger Things-esque time capsule tackle the genre's most hallmarked tropes with fresh eyes and a solid cast, including Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, and Zach Villa.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
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Campaign one followed the exploits of Vox Machina, and followed many linear aspects of The Lord of the Rings-style fantasy tropes.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Ion gauges are relatively cheap (under US $1,000) and commonplace.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The fact of death: what a commonplace, what a banal place to land.—
Garth Greenwell,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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