1
as in slogans
an attention-getting word or phrase used to publicize something (as a campaign or product)
we knew that their claim of giving "the best deal in town" was just a shibboleth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in clichés
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
there's a lot of truth in the shibboleth that if you give some people an inch, they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shibboleths
The director scores easy laughs off of modern-day progressive shibboleths such as gender-fluid pronouns, trigger warnings and Native American land acknowledgments.
—
Gustavo Arellano, Houston Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
The director scores easy laughs off of modern-day progressive shibboleths such as gender-fluid pronouns, trigger warnings and Native American land acknowledgments.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Gustavo Arellano, Houston Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
The director scores easy laughs off of modern-day progressive shibboleths such as gender-fluid pronouns, trigger warnings and Native American land acknowledgments.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleths
Noun
-
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, some fans holding the flag or bearing anti-government slogans complained of being barred from some stadiums, but the policy wasn’t universal.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2026
-
On Thursday evening, the Interfaith Alliance projected protest slogans onto an exterior wall of the National Gallery of Art.—
Tiffany Stanley,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Tribute banners honoring those who lost their lives in service will be displayed and remain up through May 31.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
20 May 2026
-
South Korean activists holding banners welcoming the North Korean players at the airport Sunday.—
Stella Kim,
NBC news,
20 May 2026
Noun
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The play isn’t subtle; the final sequence leans hard on truisms about addiction and trauma, which are affecting but overly explicit.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
20 Feb. 2026
-
One of the truisms in the past for Team Canada at some best-on-best events is needing a few games to find its game.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Taiwan Beneath all the platitudes, there are still some simmering tensions.—
Selina Wang,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
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The lyrics—elsewhere evocative—wilt dramatically, a slurry of platitudes.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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And the undoing of the normative tropes of, like, Sex is this act that starts with foreplay and ends with the male climax!—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Disruption without construction Instructors burned out with the current situation endure a barrage of repetitive bromides.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
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
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Readers share Mother's Day advice, funny sayings and expressions from moms.—
Letters to the Editor,
Washington Post,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleths.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleths. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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