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
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
One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 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
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
One ironclad truism about sports is that all streaks eventually come to an end.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 2 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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Many use cases are still being deployed or piloted, and the agency’s AI database is filled with jargon and platitudes that, in many instances, can be interpreted in multiple ways.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
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Google is famous for dodging questions by reciting platitudes on its calls.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The most commonplace and the most concerning, as a consequence, come by way of phishing campaigns.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
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But perhaps the night’s theme was best summed up by a proverb, not from Italy, but Coventry’s native continent.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
7 Feb. 2026
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And there’s a proverb, this idea of the secret of getting old.—
Renée Onque,
CNBC,
26 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In the book, the trope is introduced when Lockwood sleeps in Catherine’s childhood bed and is visited by her girl-ghost wandering the moors, demanding to be let in.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
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Between jokes about research funding and the scientific questions that might arise upon spotting a fuzzy pink Tyrannosaurus rex on a strange planet, Lemming uses her protagonist, Dory, to poke fun at romance tropes and graduate student woes alike.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That these sayings are meant to reflect something both deep and asinine about the film itself is self-evident.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
15 Feb. 2026
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Today, the writings come in the form of cards and sweet sayings on candy.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Using the book as a conscious tool of image-building is a more recent phenomenon, however, leading critic Jaime Fuller to lament the banality of such tomes in his 2019 Literary Hub article.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2026
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The film is a harrowing look at the banality of evil in its most dangerous form.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Jan. 2026
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 18 Feb. 2026.
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