as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
the speaker offered disappointingly trite sentiments about embracing each challenge as an opportunity
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Recent Examples of trite
The sheer exuberant maximalism of The Ferryman went a long way toward obscuring, even at times absolving, the show’s overdependence on some pretty trite types and twists.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Reporters are encouraged to steer clear of clichés year-round, as trite phrases lack originality and specificity.
—Mathew Brownstein, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024
The film is jam-packed with wonderful ideas, though it’s seldom allowed to bring them all to fruition, if only because its zombies feel less like a pressing danger (or even metaphors) and more like trite interruptions.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 29 Jan. 2025
And, oh boy, does Shanks — and his very game stars and producers — take those seemingly trite relationship observations to wild ends over the course of this delightfully unhinged spin on the body horror joint.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trite
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Reporters are encouraged to steer clear of clichés year-round, as trite phrases lack originality and specificity.
—Mathew Brownstein, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024
The film is jam-packed with wonderful ideas, though it’s seldom allowed to bring them all to fruition, if only because its zombies feel less like a pressing danger (or even metaphors) and more like trite interruptions.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 29 Jan. 2025
And, oh boy, does Shanks — and his very game stars and producers — take those seemingly trite relationship observations to wild ends over the course of this delightfully unhinged spin on the body horror joint.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trite
Adjective
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Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.—
Lucy Ford,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
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Founded by artists who grew up in Maryvale, Salcido said the purpose of Labor is to be the bridge that shows the artistic capacity and potential of Maryvale because the neighborhood is too often stereotyped, underrepresented and ignored.—
David Ulloa Jr,
The Arizona Republic,
6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Sleep deprivation comes with real costs Chronic sleep deprivation does more than leave people tired.—
Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse,
The Conversation,
7 Mar. 2025
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Markets grow tired of tariff changes U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday on tariff flip-flop fatigue.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The movie’s a little more hackneyed and obvious now, but its central idea is still an undeniably creepy one: possessed children with pitchforks.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
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Which is a nauseatingly hackneyed and clichéd — not to mention stupefyingly reductive — type of statement to make about any kind of art or entertainment, of course.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Trite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trite. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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