clichéd
Americanadjective
-
full of or characterized by clichés.
a clichéd, boring speech.
-
representing or expressing a cliché or stereotype; trite; hackneyed; commonplace.
the old clichéd argument that girls are more affectionate than boys.
Etymology
Origin of clichéd
First recorded in 1925–30; cliché ( def. ) + -ed 3
Explanation
When something is cliched, you've heard it a million times before — it's overused and unoriginal. Your English teacher might advise you to avoid cliched sayings in your essays. You'll know when a phrase is cliched, because it will sound extremely familiar. "Every cloud has a silver lining," "think outside the box," and "there are plenty of fish in the sea" are all cliched. These are fine to use in casual speech, or in an ironic way, but you shouldn't use them in formal writing. Many people mistakenly use the noun cliche as an adjective, instead of cliched.
Vocabulary lists containing cliched
Why We Fly
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Only Mostly Devastated
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Disability Visibility
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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.
John is clichéd in a different way, the former Marine sharpshooter who has worked all his life to be a Lantern and is not nearly as damaged as he ought to be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The show has received criticism for its idealised and clichéd view of Paris from some quarters, however, with critics suggesting it presents a theme park version of Paris.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
And yes, you best believe he is not singing any pop genre that an NYU sophomore would like, but instead treacly worship music with painfully clichéd lyrics.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026
He uses the word “multibillionaire” twice as if expelling a bad taste from his mouth and paints a clichéd picture of their “300-foot yachts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
“At the risk of sounding clichéd, I’ve been expecting you.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
