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cliché definition

cli·ché (klē s̸hā′)

noun

  1. Archaic a stereotype printing plate
  2. an expression or idea that has become trite

Etymology: Fr < clicher, to stereotype < Ger klitsch, clump, claylike mass (hence, orig., to pattern in clay)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

cliché Synonyms

cliché

n.

commonplace, platitude, truism, bromide, stereotype, proverb, saying, slogan, trite phrase, trite remark, saw, old saw, stereotyped saying, vapid expression, prosaism, triteness, tired phrase, threadbare phrase, banality, triviality, staleness, vapidity, hackneyed phrase, hackneyed expression, chestnut*; see also motto.

a ?cliché is an expression or idea which, though once fresh and forceful, has become hackneyed and weak through much repetition; a platitude is a trite remark or idea, esp. one uttered as if it were novel or profound; a commonplace is any obvious or conventional remark or idea; a truism is a statement whose truth is widely known and whose utterance, therefore, seems superfluous; bromide is an informal term for a platitude that is especially dull, tiresome, or banal


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"cliché." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/clich-e>

APA Style

cliché. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/clich-e

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