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cliché
2 dictionary results for: cliché
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cli·ché       [klee-shey, kli-] Pronunciation Key
–noun
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.
a.a stereotype or electrotype plate.
b.a reproduction made in a like manner.
–adjective
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.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cli·ché also cliche       (klē-shā')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A trite or overused expression or idea: "Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use . . . scholars were giving it increasing attention" (Anthony Brandt).
  2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: "There is a young explorer . . . who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected" (John Crowley).


[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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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