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commonplace
8 dictionary results for: commonplace
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
com·mon·place 
[kom-uhn-pleys] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[kom-uhn-pleys] Pronunciation Key –adjective
–noun
| 1. | ordinary; undistinguished or uninteresting; without individuality: a commonplace person. |
| 2. | trite; hackneyed; platitudinous: a commonplace remark. |
| 3. | a well-known, customary, or obvious remark; a trite or uninteresting saying. |
| 4. | anything common, ordinary, or uninteresting. |
| 5. | Archaic. a place or passage in a book or writing noted as important for reference or quotation. |
[Origin: 1525–35; trans. of L locus commūnis, itself trans. of Gk koinòs tópos]
] —Related forms
com·mon·place·ly, adverb
com·mon·place·ness, noun
—Synonyms 2. Commonplace, banal, hackneyed, stereotyped, trite describe words, remarks, and styles of expression that are lifeless and uninteresting. Commonplace characterizes thought that is dull, ordinary, and platitudinous: commonplace and boring. Something is banal that seems inane, insipid, and pointless: a heavy-handed and banal affirmation of the obvious. Hackneyed characterizes something that seems stale and worn out through overuse: a hackneyed comparison. Stereotyped emphasizes the fact that situations felt to be similar invariably call for the same thought in exactly the same form and the same words: so stereotyped as to seem automatic. Trite describes something that was originally striking and apt, but which has become so well-known and been so commonly used that all interest has been worn out of it: true but trite. 3. cliché, bromide, platitude, stereotype.
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
| com·mon·place
(kŏm'ən-plās') Pronunciation Key
adj. Having no remarkable features, characteristics, or traits; ordinary. n.
[Translation of Latin locus commūnis, generally applicable literary passage, translation of Greek koinos topos.] com'mon·place'ness n. |
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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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
commonplace (n.)
commonplace (n.)
1549, "a statement generally accepted," lit. translation of L. locus communis, from Gk. koinos topos "general topic." The adj. sense of "having nothing original" dates from 1609.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| commonplace | |
adjective | |
| 1. | completely ordinary and unremarkable; "air travel has now become commonplace"; "commonplace everyday activities" |
| 2. | not challenging; dull and lacking excitement; "an unglamorous job greasing engines" |
| 3. | repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor 'hard as nails'" |
noun | |
| 1. | a trite or obvious remark [syn: platitude] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Commonplace
Com"mon*place`\, a. Common; ordinary; trite; as, a commonplace person, or observation.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Commonplace
Com"mon*place`\, n. 1. An idea or expression wanting originality or interest; a trite or customary remark; a platitude. 2. A memorandum; something to be frequently consulted or referred to. Whatever, in my reading, occurs concerning this our fellow creature, I do never fail to set it down by way of commonplace. --Swift. Commonplace book, a book in which records are made of things to be remembered.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Commonplace
Com"mon*place`\, v. t. To enter in a commonplace book, or to reduce to general heads. --Felton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Commonplace
Com"mon*place`\, v. i. To utter commonplaces; to indulge in platitudes. [Obs.] --Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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