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
What’s happening now underscores that truism.
—
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
Mayors of other county cities have recently validated that truism.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for truism
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
Mayors of other county cities have recently validated that truism.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for truism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truism
Noun
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The second was that, along with the platitudes about resilience, attendees were unusually honest about the Gulf’s predicament.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
4 June 2026
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Not the word kindness, not the platitudes.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Wolff was only the eighth woman to drive a Formula 1 car (four more have done it since); the role, a now-commonplace one that includes driving the simulator during Grand Prix weekends to inform trackside strategy, was created for her.—
Danielle McNally,
InStyle,
28 May 2026
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The videos are often integrated into larger montages of drone strikes, underscoring how commonplace these drones have become for Russian forces.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
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What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Fourth walls are shattered, hoary tropes are dismantled, the body count climbs and a joke gets thrown in about the endless supply of Wayanses ready to keep the franchise going.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
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But in our universe, just over a year ago, Lineker shared an Instagram post about Zionism that featured an emoji of a rat, an antisemitic trope.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
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But the saying can also apply in the traditional sense, explaining that favoritism, and biases, are a part of life, society, business and sport, and everyone must find a way to play the hand they are dealt.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
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Age and guile, as the old saying goes, beat youth and skill every time.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
4 June 2026
Noun
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In the last few decades, that swagger seems to have collapsed under the weight of a tepid banality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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One effect of this austerity and repression is to focus attention on Albee’s language, with its slippery banalities and barbs.—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The president used similar bromides in private calls to assuage allies, including Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, before launching the war in February, according to people familiar with the conversations.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026
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Other testing by the state’s environmental quality department found elevated levels of heavy metals commonly found in oil field wastewater including barium and bromide.—
Nick Bowlin,
ProPublica,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Truism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truism. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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