banality

[buh-nal-i-tee, bey-]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of banality¹

First recorded in 1815–25; from French banalité, equivalent to banal ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

But to bemoan the barely audible banality of it all – the dull motives, the mumbled attempts to shift blame, the sullen complaints about prison life and unsatisfactory psychiatric evaluations - is to miss the truth.

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Pregnant also sums up the mood of the novel, which cultivates an atmosphere of ominous banality.

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At the same time, she is also uninterested in spouting the uplifting banalities that can make some celebrities seem calculated, as if every setback is just a marketing opportunity in disguise.

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Once youth sports returned, I clung to the routine and banality that came with it.

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In hindsight, the moment feels like a Rosetta Stone for his political aesthetics: a kind of populist cosplay that collapses grandeur and banality into the same tableau.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• platitude