2 dictionary results for: cliché
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cli·ché
[klee-shey, kli-] Pronunciation Key
[klee-shey, kli-] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox. |
| 2. | (in art, literature, drama, etc.) a trite or hackneyed plot, character development, use of color, musical expression, etc. |
| 3. | anything that has become trite or commonplace through overuse. |
| 4. | British Printing.
|
| 5. | trite; hackneyed; stereotyped; clichéd. |
Also, cli·che.
[Origin: 1825–35; < F: stereotype plate, stencil, cliché, n. use of ptp. of clicher to make such a plate, said to be imit. of the sound of the metal pressed against the matrix
]
] —Synonyms 1. platitude, bromide, stereotype, commonplace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| cli·ché also cliche
(klē-shā') Pronunciation Key
n.
[French, past participle of clicher, to stereotype (imitative of the sound made when the matrix is dropped into molten metal to make a stereotype plate).] Synonyms: These nouns denote an expression or idea that has lost its originality or force through overuse: a short story weakened by clichés; the old bromide that we are what we eat; uttered the commonplace "welcome aboard"; a eulogy full of platitudes; a once-original thought that has become a truism. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.











