Did you know?
What is the Difference Between cliché and stereotype?
The words cliché and stereotype have a good deal in common. Both come from French, both were originally printers’ terms, and both have come to take on somewhat negative meanings in modern use.
Their original meanings are essentially synonymous, referring to printing blocks from which numerous prints could be made. In fact, cliché means stereotype in French. Their modern meanings, however, are quite distinct. Cliché is today overwhelmingly encountered in reference to something hackneyed, such as an overly familiar or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression. Stereotype is most frequently now employed to refer to an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.
Examples of cliché in a Sentence
William F. Buckley, Jr., National Review, 1 May 2000
FILM "I Like It Like That": It has every cliché of the 'hood genre, elevated by a strong woman protagonist and a few comic moments.
—Bell Hooks, Ms., September/October 1994
I'd never been out with a model before, so I hadn't even bargained on the cliché of the rock star and the model as being part of my life.
—David Bowie, quoted in Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993
Time has been the best healer for the pain of loss, just as the old cliché says, but letting go is still difficult.
—Lynn McAndrews, My Father Forgets, 1990
… don't seek the ultimate, general solution; find a corner that can be defined precisely and, as our new cliché proclaims, go for it.
—Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, July 1987
a speech filled with clichés about “finding your way” and “keeping the faith”
The macho cop of Hollywood movies has become a cliché.
Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 16 June 2026
Unlike pumpkin spice, which has settled in to be such a seasonal cliche that people feel the need to defend it, pickle is still crisp and new.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 14 June 2026
In this section, artists Wendy Red Star, Omar Victor Diop, Yuki Kihara, Frida Orupabo, and Dimakatso Mathopa mine the tropes and cliches borne of these images, and through satire and recontextualization, offer works that center their own empowerment and subjectivity.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 10 June 2026
As the cliche goes, football is a game of two halves — specifically, two 45-minute halves to make a 90-minute match.
—Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 8 June 2026
Wednesday’s Game 1 of runs epitomized the cliche of basketball.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
But for Maria Poveromo, a soon-to-be Woodbridge High School graduate, some academic cliches still ring true.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 29 May 2026
This setup could be cliche territory, but not in this telling.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Club Kid runs right up to and then darts around so many potential cliches in a way that’s really satisfying.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cliché
noun
French, literally, "metal printing plate"
