as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
another sitcom based on the banality of roommates with opposite personalities
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Recent Examples of banality
While the American version of The Office may be one of the most beloved shows in TV history, in my eyes, nothing can beat the British original—whether for sheer cringe-per-minute, or the desperately drab banality of the commuter belt town of Slough.
—
Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025
Charismatic male mentors are a cinematic sacred cow, and there is a banality in hearing Isseks’s former underlings pile unconditional praise on him.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 31 Jan. 2025
And banality – well, that has a little bit to do with the uncanny valley.
—John Werner, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
The banality of state terror infecting common lives is what makes The Seed of the Sacred Fig so recognizable.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025
Charismatic male mentors are a cinematic sacred cow, and there is a banality in hearing Isseks’s former underlings pile unconditional praise on him.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 31 Jan. 2025
And banality – well, that has a little bit to do with the uncanny valley.
—John Werner, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
The banality of state terror infecting common lives is what makes The Seed of the Sacred Fig so recognizable.
—Armond White, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banality
Noun
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During his two-minute tribute, Dr. Robby — who’s suffering from acute existential exhaustion on top of the day’s extra-fine grind — falls back on a handful of cliches.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2025
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The song, the first disco hit and an indelible gay anthem, here feels like a pandering cliche.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The two-dimensional characters communicate in bromides; Lena’s fellow privates, who suffer from the laziest defining characteristics (coarse Southern gal, proper preacher’s daughter, New Yorker), are the worst offenders.—
Vikram Murthi,
IndieWire,
6 Dec. 2024
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In place of triumph-of-the-human-spirit bromides, though, what the book delivers is its own kind of cinema, harsh and true.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
8 July 2024
Noun
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Luxury scented candles, like room sprays for that matter, have the power to elevate any moment: taking it from commonplace to utterly indulgent.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
26 Mar. 2025
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The Grand Ole Opry House holds 4,400 people, but can’t accommodate standing-room tours, a commonplace in genres like EDM and hip-hop.—
Matthew Leimkuehler,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Wednesday's bizarre, inexact, and amorphous Rose Garden rally was a series of endless platitudes.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
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The Portuguese novelist José Saramago is a master of such ironies, in which a narrator’s bland clichés and platitudes hang in the air, neither quite owned nor quite disavowed, waiting to be ironized by the action of the novel.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The President’s sweeping orders confirm the truism that political shifts test the elasticity and resilience of American democracy.—
Blake D. Morant,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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The truism has it that most great New York magazine editors come from away—from the West or the Midwest or across the Atlantic—and arrive with an ability to see what natives don’t.—
Nathan Heller,
The New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Banality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banality. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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