platitude
UK /ˈplatɪˌtjuːd/ · US /ˈplætɪˌt(j)ud/ noun
Forms platitudes
- noun (countable) An often-quoted saying that is supposed to be meaningful but has become unoriginal or hackneyed through overuse.
- noun (countable) A claim that is trivially true, to the point of being uninteresting.
- noun (uncountable) Flatness; lack of change, activity, or deviation.
- noun (uncountable) Unoriginality; triteness.
Synonyms
cliché byword saying adage saw proverb maxim apothegm apophthegm dictum gnome gnomic saying mantra paroemia truism banality commonplace bromide
Etymology
Borrowed from French platitude, from plat (“flat”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The quality or state of being flat, thin, or insipid; flat commonness; triteness; staleness of ideas of language.
- noun A thought or remark which is flat, dull, trite, or weak; a truism; a commonplace.
Etymology [F., from plat flat. See Plate.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “platitude”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details