banality

American  

[buh-nal-i-tee, bey-] / bəˈnæl ɪ ti, beɪ- /

noun

plural

banalities

1. the condition or quality of being banal, or devoid of freshness or originality.

   the banality of everyday life.

2. an instance of this.

   We sat around the dinner table exchanging banalities.

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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.

Example Sentences

And hence misfired plays like this one, in which collaboration among gifted artists results only in a work of logorrheic banality.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

The cinematography, by Jarred Alterman, is quite handsome and composed, amplifying the seriousness and eeriness, but also the banality and absurdity of the matter.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025

The banality of her letter to Putin was itself a choice — and was completely on brand, for Melania Trump has always been just as opaque as her prose suggests.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025

And so we’re back to the whole lesson that we never seem to learn about how the banality of evil is real.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2024

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

Related Words

• platitude