trope

1 of 2

noun

ˈtrōp 

1

a

: a word or expression used in a figurative sense : figure of speech

b

: a common or overused theme or device : cliché

the usual horror movie tropes

2

: a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

-trope

2 of 2

noun combining form

: body characterized by (such) a state

allotrope

Synonyms

Noun

• banality
• bromide
• chestnut
• cliché
• cliche
• commonplace
• groaner
• homily
• platitude
• shibboleth
• truism

Examples of trope in a Sentence

Noun

a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The bad boy versus nice guy trope is a staple of mainstream ‘90s rom-coms. —Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024

The other part of this trope is that lonely cat owners tend to be female while dog owners are male — a stereotype that persists in film today (Would John Wick have worked as well with a cat? —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024

This one hits one of our favorite tropes in all the right places. —Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024

The guide offers examples of racists tropes and stereotypes that have been persistent for Latino characters in mainstream film and TV. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024

But the stories seemed to her more insidious and more familiar, too: The trope of the adulterous wife is as old as time. —Mattie Kahn, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024

Still, the traditional meaning and mythology of the term warrant discussion, despite their diminishing influence on the trope today. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024

Many of the lyrics on the album just update Beyoncé’s old tropes—celebrating her success as being intrinsically important and righteous—with new metaphors about whiskey or horses. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024

Filmed in black-and-white, with interior shots full of shadows and exterior shots full of swirling London fog, the film offers a clever inversion of the primal trope of light as a symbol of knowledge. —Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Latin tropus "figure of speech" (Medieval Latin, "embellishment to the sung parts of the Mass"), borrowed from Greek trópos "turn, way, manner, style, figurative expression," noun derivative from the base of trépein "to turn," probably going back to Indo-European *trep-, whence also Sanskrit trapate "(s/he) is ashamed, becomes perplexed," Hittite te-ri-ip-zi "(s/he) ploughs"

Note: Also compared is Latin trepit, glossed as vertit "(s/he) turns," but as this form is only attested in the lexicon of the grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus, it may be a reconstruction based on the Greek word. The word tropes (genitive case) in the Old English translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History is an isolated instance; the word was reborrowed from Latin or Greek in the 16th century.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek -tropos "turned, directed, living (in the manner indicated)," adjective derivative of trópos "turn, way, manner, style" — more at trope

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a