as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes the narrative trope of two rival characters falling in love by the end of the story
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Recent Examples of trope
But all of these tropes, from the beard to the villain, are predicated on the idea that sexuality and desire are always legible on the body.
—
Kelly Foster Lundquist, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Miškinis and writer Eglė Vertelytė (who adapts Rimantas Kmita’s semi-autobiographical novel) masterfully dodge genre tropes, avoiding confining their characters to simplistic labels and keeping the focus of their arcs self-motivated.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025
The phrase flipped a traditionally male-dominant trope into one of female empowerment, signaling that the woman is in control.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Because today’s world harbors high stakes for carrying on the tradition of beauty politics and its violence, Black women are beginning to unpack how our bodies and aesthetic tropes become battlegrounds in the American political sphere.
—Akilah Sailers, Essence, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trope
Kelly Foster Lundquist, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Miškinis and writer Eglė Vertelytė (who adapts Rimantas Kmita’s semi-autobiographical novel) masterfully dodge genre tropes, avoiding confining their characters to simplistic labels and keeping the focus of their arcs self-motivated.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025
The phrase flipped a traditionally male-dominant trope into one of female empowerment, signaling that the woman is in control.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Because today’s world harbors high stakes for carrying on the tradition of beauty politics and its violence, Black women are beginning to unpack how our bodies and aesthetic tropes become battlegrounds in the American political sphere.
—Akilah Sailers, Essence, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trope
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trope
Noun
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One truism in Latin American politics is that nearly every revolt is fueled by the frustration of junior army officers.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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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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Plot details are under wraps, but that's commonplace for a Perkins project.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
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Ion gauges are relatively cheap (under US $1,000) and commonplace.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 Sep. 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
Cite this Entry
“Trope.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trope. Accessed 25 Nov. 2025.
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