as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
an op-ed piece that's offers nothing but warmed-over chestnuts for solving the city's financial woes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chestnut
Noun
-
There’s a warmth to the movie that makes its cliches feel earned, not lazy.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025 -
Wilson delivered platitudes and cliches at the podium, but ultimately so far, the offense’s play has not been anywhere close to good enough in the open practices thus far.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
The state uses a three-drug protocol of etomidate, rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
-
But behind such vague bromides are specific national qualities that social scientists can identify and measure.—
Michael J. Mazarr,
Foreign Affairs,
21 June 2022
Noun
-
Nobody plots against anyone, but nobody invokes ancient proverbs, either.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
-
As the Chinese proverb suggests, U.S. tariffs aimed at Beijing have tested diplomacy and strategy between the two largest world economies.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Ghostface gave us the definitive horror villain of the '90s, the opening sequence with Drew Barrymore and a telephone remains an all-timer, plus its cleverness hasn't waned since horror tropes never die.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
-
Gray takes a rather more conventional approach here to the genre tropes in Lee Zachariah’s sturdy screenplay, but provides more than enough rapid-fire shootouts, impressive stunt choreography, shifting allegiances and moderately clever plot twists to keep things interesting.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
Bear in mind the truism that stock markets can always go down as well as up.—
Dr. Ronald Premuroso,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2025
-
According to Joyce, however, this truism depicts both Bloomsbury and the Victorians as monoliths and prevents a nuanced understanding of the complex ways Bloomsbury engaged with its Victorian past.—
Jenny Noyce,
JSTOR Daily,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Writing at length is to me always an act of learning and changing, in which authors can strive towards something more dimensional than a platitude on a placard.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
-
Craig starts off leading a stable (enough) existence, working a corporate job, exchanging platitudes with his teenage son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer), ignoring hints of discontent from Tami, and taking pride in his big accomplishment of getting speed bumps installed on their street.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
So much of modern football discourse is taken up with banality, immaturity, petty insults, utterly vapid arguments about the size of rival clubs, or fanbases, or the length of trophy droughts.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
-
In a video interview, James spoke about her favorite ax murderers, the banality of chain saws and Paul Bunyan.—
Sadie Stein,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Adding witty sayings to the leaves of handheld fans, Knighten wanted to make a statement with her products in a fun and unique way.—
Ruth Etiesit Samuel,
Essence,
4 June 2025
-
As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
4 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chestnut. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share