truism

noun

ˈtrü-ˌi-zəm How to pronounce truism (audio)
Definition of truismnext
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of truism But the proof cannot just come from the people selling the product — a truism across the whole of AI. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2026 But, travel experts say, that truism doesn't apply during this tumultuous period. — Andrea Sachs The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 29 Mar. 2026 The play isn’t subtle; the final sequence leans hard on truisms about addiction and trauma, which are affecting but overly explicit. — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026 What’s happening now underscores that truism. — Dan Walters, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for truism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truism
  1. platitude
  2. commonplace
  3. proverb
  4. trope
  5. saying
  6. banality
  7. bromide
Noun
  • As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, some of America’s most visible business leaders are doing more than offering patriotic platitudes.
    — Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • There’s passable yet indistinguishable music in this exact style dropping every day, but the difference with Chicago’s Fatso is that his lyrics feel like scraps of conversations that communicate his hurt without leaning on platitudes.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 24 June 2026
Definition of platitude
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of commonplace
Noun
  • The reason can be explained by a Japanese proverb about the importance of leaving no mess.
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026
  • Popeye the Sailor Man has been guzzling spinach since 1931 to build muscle, while the apple-a-day advice derives from a 19th-century Welsh proverb.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 5 May 2026
Definition of proverb
Noun
  • But every turn back to genre tropes has brought out new depths from the author.
    — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
  • With that old trope — that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026
Definition of trope
Noun
  • As the saying goes, hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.
    — Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
  • One person’s flip-flop is another person’s strappy sandal… or so the saying goes.
    — Talia Abbas, Vogue, 10 July 2026
Definition of saying
Noun
  • And yet for God’s sake, just look at the man—at his dispiriting attempts at humor, his weirdly off-putting outfits, his incessant posting of banalities and faux profundities and extreme-right disinformation on social media.
    — Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
  • But together, the whole is blander than the sum of its parts—a subtle banality humans can often implicitly sense.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 29 June 2026
Definition of banality
Noun
  • The fire contained compounds from more than two dozen chemical families, including dangerous amounts of bromide, a naturally occurring element that can irritate the skin and mucus membranes.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 29 June 2026
  • The bromide has been debunked, but there is power — and delight — in making coffee shop drinks at home.
    — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 25 June 2026
Definition of bromide

Browse Nearby Words

trueness
truism
truisms
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Cite this Entry

“Truism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truism. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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