as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
it's hackneyed, but true—the more you save the more you earn
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in stereotyped
to use so much as to make less appealing
advertisers have hackneyed the word "revolutionary" so much that it now just means that a product is new
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hackneyed
Will Leitch, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024
Wan bodies the haunted house subgenre here, creating an immersive atmosphere grounded in masterful storytelling and a scrupulous '70s mise-en-scène, one that earns all of its scares by avoiding hackneyed stunts and over-the-top theatrics.
—Danny Horn, James Mercadante, Ilana Gordon, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Any positive lesson here is lost in all the hackneyed jokes, and by the end the movie falls apart entirely.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 May 2024
Yet somehow, the shell company set up to convey his hackneyed rants reached a $9 billion valuation, putting it up there with Etsy.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hackneyed
Adjective
Revelations that are supposed to be moving and heartfelt feel hackneyed and clichéd, and it’s not helped by Shyamalan’s amateurish performance.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2024
Wan bodies the haunted house subgenre here, creating an immersive atmosphere grounded in masterful storytelling and a scrupulous '70s mise-en-scène, one that earns all of its scares by avoiding hackneyed stunts and over-the-top theatrics.
—Danny Horn, James Mercadante, Ilana Gordon, EW.com, 31 July 2024
Any positive lesson here is lost in all the hackneyed jokes, and by the end the movie falls apart entirely.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 May 2024
Yet somehow, the shell company set up to convey his hackneyed rants reached a $9 billion valuation, putting it up there with Etsy.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hackneyed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hackneyed
Adjective
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At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
17 Mar. 2025
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Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.—
Lucy Ford,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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He was hurt, he was exhausted and knew very well the odds of his Pittsburgh Penguins qualifying for the postseason were minimal at best.—
Josh Yohe,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
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Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Robbins was mostly Black, a place built by Black people who were tired of racial conflict in Chicago.—
D. Watkins,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
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Was Michelle ever tired of using the vibrator all the time in the show?—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The word timeless can sometimes be overused in fashion, but this is that word in action.—
Libby Page,
Vogue,
4 Apr. 2025
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For those with sensitive skin — or if overused — AHAs can compromise the skin barrier, causing redness and irritation.—
Victoria Jowett,
Refinery29,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The artist who would eventually become the voice of a generation was then a 19-year-old college dropout bored with the Midwest and intrigued by the folk music coming out of Lower Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.—
Grant Wong,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Dec. 2024
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Doing the same things every day and not getting bored with doing the same things every day.—
Rick Stroud,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hackneyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hackneyed. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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