What Is a Cliché? | Definition, Meaning & Examples

A cliché is an expression or trope that has lost its impact due to excessive use in a given cultural context. “Time heals all wounds” is an example of a cliché.

Clichés are often perceived as a sign of a lack of effort, imagination, or sincerity in writing, speech, and creative works.

Scribbr’s Paraphrasing Tool can help you find alternatives to clichés and find your unique voice.

What does cliché mean?

A cliché is an idea or turn of phrase that is considered dull and ineffective because of widespread overuse.

Clichés can be verbal or conceptual. A verbal cliché is a banal word or figure of speech.

A conceptual cliché: an overused plot device, character archetype, or other element of a creative work.

Clichés can make writing feel predictable and uninspired. Unique expressions are typically more compelling and memorable.

Perceptions of clichés are somewhat subjective. Newer expressions in particular may seem novel to some people and tiresome to others (e.g., “binge-watching” or “living rent free” in someone’s head).

“Cliché” can serve as a noun or an adjective, but “clichéd” is more widely accepted as the adjective form.

The term “cliché” is a loan word derived from the French “cliquer” (to click), used in printing to describe the repetitive sound of a plate that produced the same content repeatedly.

Cliché examples

Examples of writing clichés and their alternatives are shown in the table below. These phrases are not incorrect or taboo, but they tend to be overused.

Business clichés (also known as “corporate speak”) are often used to signal belonging or expertise, but excessive use can be perceived as grating and inauthentic.

Examples of business clichés and alternatives are shown below.

Thought-terminating clichés

A thought-terminating cliché is a short, dismissive expression that hinders critical thinking or shuts down discussion. “You’re overthinking it” is an example.

Robert Jay Lifton popularized the term “thought-terminating cliché” in a book on brainwashing and thought control. He described thought-terminating clichés as dismissing profound issues with “brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed.”

Thought-terminating cliches are common in both private and public discourse:

• In personal conversation: They are vague, invalidating truisms that are difficult to argue with and serve as conversation stoppers.
• In public discourse: They are stock phrases and simplistic arguments used to defend the status quo, upholding unjust systems, behaviors, and attitudes.

How to avoid using clichés

Clichés tend to diminish a message’s impact, whether in speech, writing, or creative works. It’s not inherently wrong to use clichés, but original words and ideas have greater potential to make an impact.

George Orwell felt so strongly about avoiding clichés that he advised, “Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.”

How to avoid clichés:

1. Familiarize yourself with common clichés.
2. Identify them in your writing.
3. Replace them with original wording.

Frequently asked questions about clichés

How do you use cliché in a sentence?

Cliché can be used as a noun or an adjective. (“Clichéd” is more commonly used as the adjective form.)

Noun usage:

• The movie was filled with every cliché imaginable.
• That phrase has become a tired cliché.

Adjective usage:

• The plot was cliché(d) and predictable.
• His speech was full of cliché(d) expressions.

What is a synonym for cliché?

Cliché has several synonyms and near-synonyms:

Noun	Adjective
banality bromide chestnut commonplace saying platitude stereotype stock phrase trope	banal derivative hackneyed overused played out (slang) stereotypical tired trite

Various short sayings can become clichés through overuse but lack the term’s inherent negative connotations. These include adages, aphorisms, catchphrases, idioms, mantras, maxims, mottos, proverbs, slogans, and truisms.

How do you spell cliché?

Cliché is spelled with an acute accent mark (é).

• Noun spelling: cliché (plural: clichés)
• Adjective spelling: clichéd (preferred) or cliché*

*The word cliché can serve as an adjective without modification because of its French origins as the past participle of “cliquer” (to click).