as in imitative
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
critics faulted the novel for having a painfully unoriginal plot
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Recent Examples of unoriginal
Meta said unoriginal content is when images or videos are reused without crediting the original creator.
—
Zach Vallese, CNBC, 14 July 2025
These are deeply unoriginal ideas about the future.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
So far, what AI produces in the way of literature is purely derivative and thus noticeably unoriginal.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 28 May 2025
The very best ones deviate from dupe culture, which often features unoriginal designs made with lower-quality materials.
—Irene Richardson, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Zach Vallese, CNBC, 14 July 2025
These are deeply unoriginal ideas about the future.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025
So far, what AI produces in the way of literature is purely derivative and thus noticeably unoriginal.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 28 May 2025
The very best ones deviate from dupe culture, which often features unoriginal designs made with lower-quality materials.
—Irene Richardson, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for unoriginal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unoriginal
Adjective
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Conversations in dorm rooms and lecture halls consist of roughly 97% university-loathing and imitative protests to fire coaches and athletic directors.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Third-party imitative learning from an immigrating parrot’s flockmates may facilitate overall group integration and social bonding and may even give rise to cultural conventions of coordinated movements or gestures.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The first act is formulaic and its plot direction and obvious romantic couplings are forecast from the start.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 2025
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While there is some variation, usually dependent on the designer, overall the look can feel a bit formulaic.—
Brett F. Braley-Palko,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unoriginal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unoriginal. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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