shibboleth

noun

ˈshi-bə-ləth How to pronounce shibboleth (audio)
Definition of shibbolethnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

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 shibboleth This opens up the possibility that the agency can finally be wrenched away from divisive ideologies and progressive shibboleths and become a streamlined international-development assistance system that truly advances America’s interests. — The Editors, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025 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 Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies. — WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023 Johnson’s novella is a shibboleth among a certain kind of reader (and, typically, writer). — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 11 May 2020 See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleth
  1. slogan
  2. truism
  3. banner
  4. platitude
  5. bromide
  6. trope
  7. commonplace
  8. banality
Noun
  • Kessler argued that the slogan reflected her advocacy against transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and was not specific to her Assembly campaign.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of paying an actor or voiceover artist to deliver the ad’s slogan, Royal Mail commissioned the ad’s producers to cut the human from the loop.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of slogan
Noun
  • With all the hype surrounding potential uses of AI tools, this is a truism that too often gets forgotten.
    — Bryan Mistele, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Wars cannot be fought on ideology alone – a truism that perhaps led to the firebrand former defense minister’s departure, after months of clashes and refusing to deal with the army top brass, as Zelensky describes it.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of truism
Noun
  • The three stores in London, Edinburgh and Manchester will continue to operate under the Harvey Nichols banner, according to the reports.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • That sense of community is also central to producer Chris Ferguson, whose Oddfellows banner has become a significant force in Vancouver’s independent film scene.
    — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of banner
Noun
  • 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
Definition of platitude
Noun
  • At the time, the state used a three-drug execution protocol of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The protocol involved an administration of an anesthetic, sodium thiopental, followed by pancuronium bromide, a paralytic agent, and finally by potassium chloride to stop the heart, all in much higher doses than they’re typically used.
    — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of bromide
Noun
  • The South London artist channels Disney soundtrack tropes into claustrophobic strings and drones, while a handful of vocal tracks hint darkly at real-world family drama.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 manga laid the groundwork for some of the genre's most enduring tropes (gender switching, horny old guys, tournaments), and this is the second anime adaptation, this time from Studio MAPPA.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of trope
Noun
  • Wolff was only the eighth woman to drive a Formula 1 car (four more have done it since); the role, a now-commonplace one that includes driving the simulator during Grand Prix weekends to inform trackside strategy, was created for her.
    — Danielle McNally, InStyle, 28 May 2026
  • The videos are often integrated into larger montages of drone strikes, underscoring how commonplace these drones have become for Russian forces.
    — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
Definition of commonplace
Noun
  • There’s so much premeditation and passion into doing that, and to actually play that with no music and just the sound and the banality of a lifeless body being hit by some blunt instrument is very viscerally upsetting.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of banality

Browse Nearby Words

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shibboleth
shibboleths
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Cite this Entry

“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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