1
as in slogan
an attention-getting word or phrase used to publicize something (as a campaign or product)
we knew that their claim of giving "the best deal in town" was just a shibboleth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
there's a lot of truth in the shibboleth that if you give some people an inch, they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shibboleth
But for those who remain beholden to the shibboleths that once justified that act of national self-harm, the Times’ acknowledgment of the obvious might be valuable.
—
The Editors, National Review, 20 Mar. 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
Nothing is sacrificed to the shibboleth of good taste.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Far from being a shibboleth of evil, the company is like any other trying to turn a profit in the Western world in 2023, which comes with its own issues and frustrations separate from the ones posited by Kristof in his viral article.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
The Editors, National Review, 20 Mar. 2024
Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies.
—WIRED, 21 Sep. 2023
Nothing is sacrificed to the shibboleth of good taste.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Far from being a shibboleth of evil, the company is like any other trying to turn a profit in the Western world in 2023, which comes with its own issues and frustrations separate from the ones posited by Kristof in his viral article.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for shibboleth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shibboleth
Noun
-
Trump beamed as one cabinet member after another repeated his campaign slogans to claim success in various fields.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2025
-
This is the power of art: taking a concept and exposing its contradictions, turning it into a complex phenomenon rather than a simple slogan.—
Rebecca Ruth Gould,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The song, the first disco hit and an indelible gay anthem, here feels like a pandering cliche.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
By uniting these technologies under one banner, Qualcomm better communicates its value to enterprise customers, clarifies product positioning, and positions for long-term growth across the industrial and telecom sectors.—
Steve McDowell,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Today, banners with photos of successful Hispanic alumni hang from lampposts on the 30-acre campus, and a mariachi band leads celebrations on Día de los Muertos.—
Jon Marcus,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
Wednesday's bizarre, inexact, and amorphous Rose Garden rally was a series of endless platitudes.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund were hoping to thwart Paris Saint-Germain’s and Barcelona’s charge for the Champions League trophy last week, but neither team were able to spin the underdog trope successfully.—
Brett Koremenos,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
-
So while many will talk about de-dollarization, a treasury bond collapse, runaway inflation – all the usual tropes – those aren’t necessary for gold to surge.—
Clem Chambers,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
My pocket guide said its fruits taste like chestnuts.—
Dina Mishev Max Whittaker,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2025
-
And one of my favorite marriages is with hot chestnuts and a glass of sweet wine.—
John Mariani,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share