as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
that old adage, "the early bird gets the worm"
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adage
As the adage goes, the road to success is seldom a straight line.
—
James Manso, Footwear News, 28 Apr. 2026
More interesting is the fact that both stations are doing so well, proving the old adage that real competition brings out the best.
—Richard Wagoner, Daily News, 27 Apr. 2026
The old stock market adage speaks to the phenomenon in which the May-through-October stretch has seasonally borne out to be the worst six-month period of returns for stocks.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026
Turns out, the old adage of spending money to make money is accurate.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for adage
James Manso, Footwear News, 28 Apr. 2026
More interesting is the fact that both stations are doing so well, proving the old adage that real competition brings out the best.
—Richard Wagoner, Daily News, 27 Apr. 2026
The old stock market adage speaks to the phenomenon in which the May-through-October stretch has seasonally borne out to be the worst six-month period of returns for stocks.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026
Turns out, the old adage of spending money to make money is accurate.
—Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for adage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adage
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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What’s that famous saying about hell hath no fury?—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
16 May 2026
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Sets come in half-dozens and include designs like a soccer ball, a flag, celebratory sayings in the language and a jersey, according to its website.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee
May 15,
Kansas City Star,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!—
Mark Cooper,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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One important tool in early natural-language-processing work was ranking the frequency of word sequences.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
But that maxim may not hold up this year.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
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But the maxim applies in a different way in the documentary Fork in the Road, which made its world premiere Saturday at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California’s wine country.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adage. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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