as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
ended his letter with the overused truism, "You can't win them all!"
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Recent Examples of truism
What’s happening now underscores that truism.
—
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
Mayors of other county cities have recently validated that truism.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for truism
Dan Walters, Oc Register, 5 Feb. 2026
Mayors of other county cities have recently validated that truism.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
But the movie’s soft-hearted underbelly fails to support that reading, and by the time the story finally arrives at its final moments, the unsparing cynicism that supplied its initial lift has been dragged back down to Earth by the weight of bland truisms.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for truism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for truism
Noun
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The lyrics—elsewhere evocative—wilt dramatically, a slurry of platitudes.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
29 Apr. 2026
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Neville is smart enough as a documentarian to leave out platitudes, but also to let access to Michaels’ Maine retreat be a vibe rather than some knockout reveal.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Or is this commonplace in NBA transactions?—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 May 2026
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In the early 2000s, Sears began to use its website — the new iteration of its catalog — to help pioneer the now-commonplace practices of buying goods online and picking them up in store.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Gilbert — who seven years ago headlined this venue himself — smoked a cigar and dipped tobacco simultaneously for much of his set, which luxuriated in country-music-concert tropes.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
10 May 2026
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The roles taken by Burić, the grumpy coach, Romeo, who plays a scary janitor, and Löwensohn, who is the academy’s strict yet maternal manager, allowed Chryssos to toy with sports world tropes.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
But my curiosity proved stronger than my nay-saying.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
-
Readers share Mother's Day advice, funny sayings and expressions from moms.—
Letters to the Editor,
Washington Post,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
In the last few decades, that swagger seems to have collapsed under the weight of a tepid banality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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One effect of this austerity and repression is to focus attention on Albee’s language, with its slippery banalities and barbs.—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The bromide invites teachers to underestimate their students.—
Steven F. Wilson,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Truism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/truism. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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