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 cliché
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
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Recent Examples of shibboleth
In a North Hollywood podcast studio last week, Gill Tejada and his co-host, Boo Boo, trashed liberal shibboleths, like any good Trumpers.
—
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleth
Noun
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Protesters attend a march to the US consulate during a demonstration, under the slogan 'Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people', in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 15, 2025.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
9 Jan. 2026
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Videos posted on social media virtually every night have shown crowds of protesters marching through the streets of various Iranian cities, chanting anti-government slogans and clashing with the country's security forces in some cases.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Reijn will also produce through her Man Up Film banner, with A24 also producing and financing.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
14 Jan. 2026
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Participants are encouraged to bring banners.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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Kemp does warn his readers to be skeptical of truisms about the nature of history and the odds of apocalypse.—
Linda Kinstler,
The Atlantic,
1 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Eritrea had trounced Zanzibar to reach the semi-finals of the CECAFA Under-20 Championship — consisting of national teams from east and central African nations — when, amid the celebrations and platitudes from government officials back home, the players made their move.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
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On one hand, the platitudes of traditional sportsbook operators fracturing under a droplet of business pressure reflects how the world works.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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
-
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
-
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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The 1945 War Brides Act largely diverged from these previous measures, helping to dismantle the Asian exclusion made commonplace in the 19th and early 20th centuries.—
Anna Storti,
The Conversation,
8 Jan. 2026
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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
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
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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