platitude

American  

[plat-i-tood, -tyood] / ˈplæt ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

noun

1. a flat, dull, or trite remark, especially one uttered as if it were fresh or profound.

   Synonyms:

   truism, cliché

2. the quality or state of being flat, dull, or trite.

   the platitude of most political oratory.

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platitude British  

/ ˈplætɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. a trite, dull, or obvious remark or statement; a commonplace

2. staleness or insipidity of thought or language; triteness

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Other Word Forms

• platitudinous
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of platitude

First recorded in 1805–15; from French: literally, “flatness,” equivalent to plat “flat” ( cf. plate ¹) + -itude -tude ( def. )

Explanation

If an executive gives a speech that begins, "This business is all about survival of the fittest. You need to burn the midnight oil and take one for the team," his employees might get sick of listening to these meaningless clichés and tell him to cut the platitudes. The English language contains many old, worn-out clichés, or platitudes. Phrases like "ants in your pants" and "as American as apple pie" are so overused that they've almost lost their meaning. People rely on these tired old remarks when they can't think of anything original to say. Be warned: if you throw too many platitudes into your conversations, people are eventually going to get tired of listening to you.

Example Sentences

If you've been following Conor's various impressions over the last year or so, you'll immediately recognize these two caricatures: The obliviously arrogant Ian Poulter and Tiger "The Sentient Platitude" Woods.

From Golf Digest • May 15, 2019

Not for nothing is he known to the press corps as David Platitude.

From The Guardian • Mar. 17, 2013

Platitude though this may be, our greatest poets have not hesitated to use their highest powers to impress it upon us.

From Socialism: Positive and Negative by La Monte, Robert Rives

Were not his wife and daughters more than half suspected of being Jacobites, followers of the Reverend Mr. Platitude, and addicted to ‘Charley o’er the Waterism’? 

From Lavengro; the Scholar, the Gypsy, the Priest by Sullivan, Edmund J. (Edmund Joseph)

A limited number of the Platitude class still linger about me—principally on account of a long-contracted habit.

From The Inner Sisterhood A Social Study in High Colors by Sherley, George Douglass

Related Words

• banality
• bromide