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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
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The slogan has become embedded in the Royals’ ethos (and has even made its way onto T-shirts).—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2025
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Outside the little green brick building hangs the sign with the restaurant's slogan: Automatic For The People.—
Melanie Peeples,
NPR,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The song, the first disco hit and an indelible gay anthem, here feels like a pandering cliche.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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However, and forgive the cliche, but GenAI tools are evolving so fast that what got your organization here won’t get it there.—
Clint Boulton,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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With no streamer or network picking it up, the film found a home with Tom Ortenberg’s theatrical banner Briarcliff Entertainment.—
Steven Zeitchik,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Mar. 2025
-
People gathered later Wednesday near Istanbul’s police headquarters, carrying posters of the mayor and banners with his photo around their shoulders.—
Mehmet Guzel and Suzan Fraser,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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Who hasn’t been placated with corporate platitudes or company swag when advocating for concrete change?—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN,
21 Mar. 2025
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The film follows an ensemble of campers who are weary of platitudes about grief, and speak to one another from a place of radical honesty that is by turns heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, embracing irreverent humor as a cathartic means of self-expression.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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That damaging trope—that this new generation is too sensitive, too entitled, too hard to manage—has been lobbed at young people trying to make sense of a job market that looks nothing like the one their parents entered.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
1 Apr. 2025
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The anime auteur responsible for Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo has been rewriting the rules of anime music since the ’90s, subverting tropes, reimagining genres, and weaving together disparate signifiers from the past and future to tell deeply affecting stories that speak to our present.—
Matthew Ismael Ruiz,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Woody and green aromas, followed by a taste that differs—mocha and figs and some roasted chestnuts.—
Tom Mullen,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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Seasonal ingredients are frequently added, too, including chestnuts or persimmons in the fall, sumo citrus in winter, and cherry blossoms come spring.—
Caroline Newton,
Bon Appétit,
12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Shibboleth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shibboleth. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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