as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
the play's dialogue featured all of the groaners that seem to be de rigueur for any dysfunctional-family drama
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Recent Examples of groaner
Those pacing blips aren’t the only groaners.
—
Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—Wesley Lowery, Washington Post, 1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—Dawn Burkes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groaner
Noun
-
Some, but not all, of those tropes are present in Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s behind-the-scenes drama The Beloved (El Ser Querido), which manages to add a few welcome twists to the formula.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
-
The highlight, taking over most of the gallery space on 19th Street, is new paintings by Lisa Yuskavage, a brilliant inversion of the studio painting trope, looking as potent as anything she’s ever made.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
His deep arsenal gives him a chance to handle a truism of the craft.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
-
Ever since, intelligence officers have ruefully invoked that truism whenever they’re blamed for a major screwup.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Taiwan Beneath all the platitudes, there are still some simmering tensions.—
Selina Wang,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
-
The lyrics—elsewhere evocative—wilt dramatically, a slurry of platitudes.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield offered an observation that has since become a Washington commonplace.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
18 May 2026
-
Or is this commonplace in NBA transactions?—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
What’s that famous saying about hell hath no fury?—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
16 May 2026
-
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
-
In the last few decades, that swagger seems to have collapsed under the weight of a tepid banality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
One effect of this austerity and repression is to focus attention on Albee’s language, with its slippery banalities and barbs.—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Groaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groaner. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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