1
as in slogans
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
Relevance
2
as in clichés
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleths
Noun
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In a December 2023 video posted online by Maduro, Villegas can be seen holding up a radio in the cockpit as the president trades patriotic slogans with the pilot of a Russian Sukhoi fighter jet.—
Joshua Goodman,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025 -
The Church, which is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is best known for organizing pickets at soldiers’ funerals and emblazoning anti-LGBT slogans on protest signs and billboards.—
Lilit Marcus,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Mere weeks after the empire had collapsed, that word appeared on posters glued to the walls of public buildings and on banners strung from lampposts along the central avenues.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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That kind of proof may matter long after the banners come down.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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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This is now a political war that has escalated far beyond the ethical platitudes some use to argue against Proposition 50.—
Marc Lampe,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Oct. 2025
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Continue reading … BLIND LOYALTY – Karine Jean-Pierre has rocky rollout for book as reviews pan Biden defense, platitudes.—
,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Many of these same tropes appear in movies such as The Matrix (1999), I, Robot (2004), Transcendence (2014), Ex Machina (2015), M3gan (2022), The Creator (2023), and others.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Misinformation swirled online, featuring racist tropes and fake videos.—
Garrett Haake,
NBC news,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There is an outright rejection of bromides that would give us some conclusion of reassurance.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Incidents of such poisoning saw a sharp decline when the Food and Drug Administration phased out the use of bromides in pharmaceuticals between the mid 70s and late 1980s.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Amish are part of the wider Anabaptist movement, which puts heavy emphasis on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, containing some of his most radical and counter-cultural sayings — to love enemies, live simply, bless persecutors, turn the other cheek and to endure sufferings joyfully.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
30 Oct. 2025
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The Workers’ Party of Korea is the sole ruling party of North Korea, blending communism with the words, sayings and ideals of the Kim dynasty, who have imposed their authoritarian rule on the country for three generations.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
9 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Shibboleths.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleths. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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