banality
Americannoun
-
the condition or quality of being banal, or devoid of freshness or originality.
the banality of everyday life.
-
an instance of this.
We sat around the dinner table exchanging banalities.
Etymology
Origin of banality
First recorded in 1815–25; from French banalité, equivalent to banal ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )
Explanation
A banality is a trite, boring, or overused remark. That includes clichés like "life is short" and your basic small talk about the weather. Banalities are sayings that almost everyone uses, and because they're so well-known, they've lost all their power. These expressions are clichéd and many people find them annoying. "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade" is one good example. When you're writing or speaking, you're much better off trying to find fresh language because one tends to hear the same old banalities again and again.
Vocabulary lists containing banality
The Namesake
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All the Light We Cannot See
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Prairie Lotus
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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.
The real author describes it as a combination of plagiarism and banality.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
Pregnant also sums up the mood of the novel, which cultivates an atmosphere of ominous banality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Madeleine Thien has penned an all-too-human novel that explores themes of collaboration and resistance, exile and community, and the banality of living in “interesting times.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2025
Or, was "SNL" presenting queerness with the same banality as we’ve come to see straightness, albeit with the use of a somewhat dehumanizing pun?
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025
Daylight, and the banality of family small talk, would dispel whatever impact she had made as a ghostly illuminated apparition.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
