plural banalities
1
: something that lacks originality, freshness, or novelty : something banal : commonplace
2
: the quality or state of lacking new or interesting qualities : the quality or state of being banal

Examples of banality in a Sentence

The trip offers an escape from the banalities of daily life. We exchanged banalities about the weather. The writing never rose above banality.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Generally, the drama does spectacularly well with abiding by a primal sense of magical realism — the finding of wonderment in the banal and the insertion of banality into the wondrous. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024 None capture the awkward banality of the candidate’s actual campaign stop. Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024 This is about the banality of everyday life, about people merely following trends without thought. Reece Rogers, WIRED, 3 Mar. 2024 The sunny banalities of New Labour had to give way to some hard truths: as Weber said, politics is drilling slowly through hard boards. David Runciman, Foreign Affairs, 22 July 2013 See all Example Sentences for banality 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French banalité, from banal "available for general use, commonplace, banal" + -ité -ity

Note: The modern French word is probably an eighteenth-century coinage, and not continuous with Middle French bannalité "a feudal lord's right to extract usage fees, area under such a jurisdiction."

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of banality was in 1821

Dictionary Entries Near banality

Cite this Entry

“Banality.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banality. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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