as in cliché
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of banality
The film is a harrowing look at the banality of evil in its most dangerous form.
—
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Openness comes from these encounters with banality and consistency.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
With The Chair Company, Robinson and his longtime partner in crime, Zach Kanin, take the motifs that long peppered their work (drab offices, social faux pas, screaming men, sweaty entitlement) and stretch them into a fever dream of horror in the banality.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
The novel’s power lies in its relentless banality—the mind churning while life’s machinery grinds on.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Openness comes from these encounters with banality and consistency.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
With The Chair Company, Robinson and his longtime partner in crime, Zach Kanin, take the motifs that long peppered their work (drab offices, social faux pas, screaming men, sweaty entitlement) and stretch them into a fever dream of horror in the banality.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
The novel’s power lies in its relentless banality—the mind churning while life’s machinery grinds on.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banality
Noun
-
The bromide has it that a liberal is a person who won’t take his own side in an argument.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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In Cuba today, Marxist bromides serve as nothing more than rhetorical cover for corruption.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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By the time Szeemann was invited to organize two consecutive installments of the Venice Biennale (in 1999 and 2001), the criticism of curators’ assuming the role of meta-artists, in Szeemann’s case with quasi-shamanistic aspirations, had become a commonplace.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
-
But little things can turn the commonplace into tragedy.—
Dave Duffey,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Donovan reiterated a series of platitudes that haven’t changed during his time with the Bulls.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
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For Hankins-Biggers and her team, espousing empty platitudes isn’t enough.—
Essence,
Essence,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But, travel experts say, that truism doesn't apply during this tumultuous period.—
ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
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That is a truism of NFL free agency.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Steeped in international cinema, Haghighi has since taken familiar tropes, forms, and genres and bent them in new directions.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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Episode 1, for example, comes over as a political thriller with horror tropes where Prime Minister Adolfo Saúrez battles in 1976 to persuade – or bribe – a Francoist parliament to vote itself out of existence.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The decal features a common saying in intelligence circles.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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More than a saying, pura vida is a guiding philosophy that honors simplicity and sustainability, and celebrates the deep-rooted connection between people and their environment.—
Meghan Palmer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Banality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banality. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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