as in clichés
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
another sitcom based on the banality of roommates with opposite personalities
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Recent Examples of banalities
As far back as the Victorian era, exchanging a few banalities was part of a veritable social code—a way of signaling both politeness and boundaries.
—
Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2025
Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2025
Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banalities
Noun
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Google is famous for dodging questions by reciting platitudes on its calls.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
30 Jan. 2026
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Too often, sustainability messaging swings between vague platitudes and overwhelming detail.—
Jeff Fromm,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Despite their clear affection for these women, the Dardenne brothers never sugarcoat their characters’ unenviable circumstance or latch onto phony bromides to alleviate our anxiety.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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There is a reason why the apocalyptic bromides about the state of print haven’t come to fruition, other than for disposable periodicals and newspapers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Kemp does warn his readers to be skeptical of truisms about the nature of history and the odds of apocalypse.—
Linda Kinstler,
The Atlantic,
1 Dec. 2025
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But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The cast includes Black Ops star Hammed Animashaun, Emma Sidi, who played Rose Matafeo’s flatmate in Starstruck, and Al Nash, a viral comic who satirizes social media tropes.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
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The imagery was largely criticized for echoing long-standing racist tropes that have historically been used to demean Black Americans.—
Ana Ceballos
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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So, as media day unfolded Saturday, the coach offered a flow of cliches and sayings.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
17 Jan. 2026
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The Allen family has several sayings.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Banalities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banalities. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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