proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
2
: that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of
the proverbial smoking gun
Examples of proverbial in a Sentence
Insanity roamed through her large midwestern tribe, cloistered in proverbial dark closets in gabled houses in areas of the country where no one else lived for miles and miles …
—
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990
Recent Examples on the Web
But this sunny outlook was marred by the proverbial bolt out of the blue — U.S. President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs that would see a 31 percent levy slapped on Swiss goods entering the U.S.
Too Soon to Talk
That quickly became the elephant in the room at the fair.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 17 Apr. 2025
The dangers posed by cuts to U.S. foreign aid
Elon Musk's proverbial chainsaw and President Trump's policies have targeted American foreign aid, and with it the humanitarian groups whose work its funds around the world.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2025
Reports that lack a crucial piece of information about would-be borrowers associate with the proverbial lending windows slamming shut.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
The proverbial slope from seemingly reasonable uses of these technologies to unconstitutional and unjustifiably speech-suppressive uses is very slippery.
—Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
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Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 17 Apr. 2025
The dangers posed by cuts to U.S. foreign aid
Elon Musk's proverbial chainsaw and President Trump's policies have targeted American foreign aid, and with it the humanitarian groups whose work its funds around the world.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2025
Reports that lack a crucial piece of information about would-be borrowers associate with the proverbial lending windows slamming shut.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
The proverbial slope from seemingly reasonable uses of these technologies to unconstitutional and unjustifiably speech-suppressive uses is very slippery.
—Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
Cite this Entry
“Proverbial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proverbial. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
proverbial wisdom
2
: commonly spoken of
the proverbial beginner's luck
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