banal
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See commonplace.
Other Word Forms
- banality noun
- banally adverb
Etymology
Origin of banal
First recorded in 1745–55; from French, Old French: “pertaining to a ban”; equivalent to ban 2 + -al 1
Explanation
If something is boring and unoriginal, it's banal. Banal things are dull as dishwater. Ever notice how some TV shows, songs, and even phrases are boring and unoriginal? It's like you've seen or heard the same thing a million times. Anything that's unoriginal and dull is banal — a fancy word for things that bore you to tears. When you're writing, try not to be banal. Clichés and dull topics are banal. New ideas, fresh language, and unusual subject matter can keep your writing from being dreary and banal.
Vocabulary lists containing banal
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Hunger Games
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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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.
Golaszewski explains it's not intentional and he's showing that "the truth of grief is that it is banal".
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
The short video posts on platforms like TikTok show how even just the words "Tokyo, Japan" with a cherry blossom emoji can make an otherwise banal street scene more appealing for some users.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
To these students, who perceive A.I.’s banal flatness as a hallmark of good style, my new essays are not acceptable.
From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026
Not when the resulting film is as banal as “The Rip.”
From Salon • Jan. 25, 2026
It would be banal to recall that phthiriasis is caused by lice, and that certain larvae of Diptera, such as the cestrids, may occasion the disease called myasis.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions 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.
