hackneyed

[ hak-need ]

adjective

1. made commonplace or trite; stale; banal:

   the hackneyed images of his poetry.

   Synonyms: overdone

hackneyed

/ ˈhæknɪd /

adjective

1. (of phrases, fashions, etc) used so often as to be trite, dull, and stereotyped

Other Words From

• non·hackneyed adjective
• un·hackneyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackneyed¹

First recorded in 1740–50; hackney + -ed ²

Synonym Study

See commonplace.

Example Sentences

The Wilhelm scream is no hackneyed narrative device, but instead a nod to what Burtt calls the legacy of the language of sound.

From Washington Post

The word “unique” is so hackneyed that it’s a cliche to say it’s a cliche.

From Washington Blade

If it’s a little hammy or hackneyed, it’s because it’s a pretty reliable formula that works.

From Digiday

Even the harmonized choral accents are hackneyed, ripped straight from her previous mega-hit “You Belong with Me.”

From The Daily Beast

Hackneyed chestnuts like that are reserved for old toastmasters, and yet, there we were.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes Allen retools a hackneyed plot and the bones show through—not this time.

From The Daily Beast

Hackneyed and dull, it feels like a lazy throwback in every sense of the word.

From The Daily Beast

Everything seemed too hackneyed or unconvincing or simply impossible.

From The Daily Beast

To use a hackneyed figure, it was as though the earth had opened and swallowed her husband.

From Project Gutenberg

Much like general terms, which mean something or nothing, are expressions that have become trite and hackneyed.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall probably be met with the hackneyed cry, The question is entirely one of price.

From Project Gutenberg

You can't describe them unless you label them with the hackneyed interrogation point.

From Project Gutenberg

Each gentleman addressed her with some hackneyed compliment.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• banal
• corny
• stale
• threadbare
• timeworn
• trite
• well-worn