as in clichés
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 tropes
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, 5 Nov. 2025
Misinformation swirled online, featuring racist tropes and fake videos.
—Garrett Haake, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
All these tropes — gaydar and girls without it — make for easier narratives, but the presumption that the codes of the heart can be deciphered on the body is one that, outside the world of absurdist comedy — and probably sometimes within it as well — can wound and damage.
—Kelly Foster Lundquist, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
The razor-sharp slasher, which leans into and subverts genre tropes, also stars Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Courtney Cox, Jamie Kennedy and David Arquette, among others.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 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
Kon subverts slasher tropes and nimbly toys with reality, constantly upending audience expectations and keeping us on our toes.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
But of course, like all good enemies-to-lover tropes, Clarke and Lexa were forced to put aside their differences to save their people — and ultimately fell in love.
—Catherine Mhloyi, Them., 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
Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Misinformation swirled online, featuring racist tropes and fake videos.
—Garrett Haake, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025
All these tropes — gaydar and girls without it — make for easier narratives, but the presumption that the codes of the heart can be deciphered on the body is one that, outside the world of absurdist comedy — and probably sometimes within it as well — can wound and damage.
—Kelly Foster Lundquist, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
The razor-sharp slasher, which leans into and subverts genre tropes, also stars Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Courtney Cox, Jamie Kennedy and David Arquette, among others.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 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
Kon subverts slasher tropes and nimbly toys with reality, constantly upending audience expectations and keeping us on our toes.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
But of course, like all good enemies-to-lover tropes, Clarke and Lexa were forced to put aside their differences to save their people — and ultimately fell in love.
—Catherine Mhloyi, Them., 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tropes
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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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
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
“Tropes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tropes. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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