Meaning & use
cliché
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
A phrase or idea used so often that it has lost its original impact, freshness, or meaning.
Grammar: Takes a plural: old clichés. Can refer to expressions, plots, images, or situations.
Patterns
- avoid a cliché
- a tired cliché
- become a cliché
The phrase “at the end of the day” has become a tired cliché in meetings.
Her story avoids the cliché of the chosen child saving everyone.
Calling every difficult week a rollercoaster is a cliché that no longer surprises anyone.
Word forms
| plural | clichés |
|---|
Common combinations
- absolute cliché
- A tiny cottage by the sea can feel like an absolute cliché in travel ads.
- avoid clichés
- Good writing teachers tell students to avoid clichés unless using them deliberately.
- clichéd phrase
- Editors removed every clichéd phrase from the speech.
Synonyms and how they differ
- platitude
- A flat, overused remark, especially one meant to sound wise or comforting.
- banality
- The quality of being ordinary and uninteresting; less specifically about repeated phrases.
- stereotype
- A fixed oversimplified image of a type of person, not usually a worn-out phrase.
- trope
- A common device or theme; it is more neutral and can be used freshly.
Opposites
Word family
- clichéd adjective
- overused and lacking freshness.
Commonly confused: cliché or clique?
cliché vs clique
A clique is a small exclusive group of people; a cliché is an overused phrase or idea.
Practice
Which word best fills the blank: “The ending was predictable—another Hollywood ___ about love conquering all.”?
Choose one answer.
A cliché is an overused idea with lost impact, exactly the predictable Hollywood ending. Innovation and riddle do not mean overused, and a motto is a chosen guiding phrase rather than a worn-out idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cliché”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.