1
as in boring
lacking in qualities that make for spirit and character
unlike their early work, the band's latest offering is banal and uninspiring
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
please find new ways of phrasing your thoughts instead of relying on banal expressions
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of banal
But Sophie’s name transforms a banal photograph into a picture that leads us into a world of families and the complicated racial politics of the 19th-century West.
—
Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Her feeds from Paris Fashion Week 2016 are a representative sample—a pacifying stream of cream and white, diamonds and lace, outsize wealth made as banal as breakfast.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
The internet has encouraged only more comparison, and more consternation—more places to argue, more pressure to make even the most banal parts of our lives beautiful.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2025
Beyond that, this is a ridiculously byzantine framework to apply to something as banal as plumbing fixture flow rates.
—The Editors, National Review, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banal
Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Her feeds from Paris Fashion Week 2016 are a representative sample—a pacifying stream of cream and white, diamonds and lace, outsize wealth made as banal as breakfast.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
The internet has encouraged only more comparison, and more consternation—more places to argue, more pressure to make even the most banal parts of our lives beautiful.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2025
Beyond that, this is a ridiculously byzantine framework to apply to something as banal as plumbing fixture flow rates.
—The Editors, National Review, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banal
Adjective
-
Some people assume that longtime married couples are boring, but my husband has never bored me.—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2025
-
Spectators perceive tennis outfits as plain, boring, rigid or limited to a specific silhouette.—
Ruth Etiesit Samuel,
Essence,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
But products also became more bland, predictable and stripped of individuality.—
Wolfgang Messner,
The Conversation,
2 June 2025
-
The show never figures out what to do with Alvarez’s Gael, leaving a bland center to several more of those twists in the last episode.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Several leaders described the pressure of being both highly visible and easily stereotyped.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
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Their negative stereotyped reputation seems to follow them like ageism follows older employees or sexism follows female employees.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Brazil were insipid at last summer’s Copa America and have gone downhill since.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
-
Little Dog asks, an insipid comparison that illuminates only the fungibility of abstract nouns.—
Andrea Long Chu,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
Adjective
-
While infants and toddlers between the ages of 0 to 2 years are more likely to experience a stuffy nose, cough, poor appetite, fussiness, and sleep problems, children between the ages of 3 to 5 years mainly complain of sleepiness, feeling tired during daytime, low energy and dry cough.—
Anuradha Varanasi,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
-
Family members said Jacobs had talked about feeling tired, but not about wanting to take his own life.—
Ames Alexander,
Charlotte Observer,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
The bittersweet result didn’t dull a remarkable career and legacy for Kelly.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
31 May 2025
-
But the drama can be very stolid, borderline dull at times.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
Differences of opinion between economists, scorekeepers and analysts are commonplace, as are the heated rhetorical attacks lobbed at the Congressional Budget Office.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
4 June 2025
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In an era where burnout is commonplace and uncertainty is constant, cultivating playful mindsets may well be one of the most powerful leadership strategies available.—
Anna Boltenko,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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These guys have been touring for decades, never tiring of playing the hits even while steadily putting out albums full of new material.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
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Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle sustains this tiring play style by deploying a 10-man rotation, allowing his players to stay fresh throughout high-intensity games.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Banal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banal. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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