as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
ended his letter with the overused truism, "You can't win them all!"
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Recent Examples of truism
One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.
—
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2025
This corresponds to a common intuition and truism about crime being a young man’s game, with criminality being most pronounced among younger people (mostly men) and less common among older people.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 1 Oct. 2025
Vance and Miller spoke as if this were a truism.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2025
There is a truism that a good place to live is a good place to visit—and that relationship often creates a virtuous cycle of development.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for truism
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2025
This corresponds to a common intuition and truism about crime being a young man’s game, with criminality being most pronounced among younger people (mostly men) and less common among older people.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 1 Oct. 2025
Vance and Miller spoke as if this were a truism.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2025
There is a truism that a good place to live is a good place to visit—and that relationship often creates a virtuous cycle of development.
—Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for truism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truism
Noun
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In most cases, the record holders agree to be interviewed, distilling years of experience into fairly shallow platitudes — pithy advice Green finds understandably unsatisfying.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Darveau’s wish for the university’s employees was not a holiday platitude.—
Rachel Rabkin Peachman,
Forbes.com,
20 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
-
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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And there’s a proverb, this idea of the secret of getting old.—
Renée Onque,
CNBC,
26 Nov. 2025
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For nine months, Erasmus spent his short nights in a modest dorm and his long days in the print shop, expanding on his collection of proverbs Adagiorum chiliades while Aldus proofread, craftsman carefully laying sets of print and rolling paper through the press.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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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
-
Turnovers come in bunches, the saying goes.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Kids can be cruel, as the old saying goes.—
Dr. Mahvash Madni,
Boston Herald,
4 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
Noun
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Despite their clear affection for these women, the Dardenne brothers never sugarcoat their characters’ unenviable circumstance or latch onto phony bromides to alleviate our anxiety.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Truism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truism. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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