trite

[trahyt] / traɪt /

ADJECTIVE

silly, commonplace

Synonyms

STRONGEST

banal corny dull hackneyed

WEAK

bathetic bromidic chain cliché clichéd common cornball drained exhausted familiar tune flat hokey jejune mildewed moth-eaten musty old hat ordinary pedestrian platitudinous prosaic ready-made routine run-of-the-mill set shopworn stale stereotyped stock threadbare timeworn tired uninspired unoriginal used-up vapid warmed-over well-worn worn worn-out

Antonyms

STRONGEST

fresh new original

WEAK

desirable important impressive pertinent relevant uncommon

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Your friend will find something else; she doesn’t need a trite saying to confirm that.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

What Thompson-Hernández’s art so easily dispels, no matter the genre it finds a home in, are all the knotty, misguided and trite representations of otherness in our contemporary world.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

Mr. Guadagnino also indulges a couple of speeches about young people’s alleged hypersensitivity that veer into trite middle-aged lament and aren’t really relevant to the action.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

It’s a gag that’s funny five times and trite by the sixth, only to round back toward something warm and amiable by the final time it appears.

From Salon • Oct. 2, 2025

The only expression more trite than tongue in cheek is tongue firmly in cheek.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Vocabulary lists containing trite

The Vocabulary.com Top 1000

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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words

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Sickly Sweet Treats: Sappy and Insincere Valentine Words

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