banal
Use Banal in a sentence
l adjective
devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite: a banal and sophomoric treatment of courage on the frontier.
Related forms
ba·nal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To banal
Collins
World English Dictionary
banal (bəˈnɑːl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| lacking force or originality; trite; commonplace | |
| [C18: from Old French: relating to compulsory feudal service, hence common to all, commonplace; from ban | |
| banality | |
| —n | |
| ba'nally | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Banal
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is bumptious. Does it mean:
| discover or reveal |
| offensively self-assertive |
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
| Main Entry: | banal1 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | commonplace; tired or petty |
| Etymology: | Serbo-Croatian ban 'lord, ruler' |
| Main Entry: | banal2 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | pertaining to compulsory feudal service |
| Etymology: | Serbo-Croatian ban 'lord, ruler' |
| Main Entry: | banal3 |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | pertaining to a lord or ruler (banat) in Hungary, Croatia, and thereabouts |
| Etymology: | Serbo-Croatian ban 'lord, ruler' |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
banal
"trite, commonplace," 1840, from Fr. banal, adj., "belonging to a manor, common, hackneyed, commonplace," from O.Fr. banel "communal" (13c.), from ban "decree; legal control; announcement; authorization; payment for use of a communal oven, mill, etc." (see ban (v.)). The modern
sense evolved from the word's use in designating things like ovens or mills that belonged to feudal serfs, or else compulsory military service; in either case it was generalized in French through "open to everyone" to "commonplace, ordinary," to "trite, petty."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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