hackneyed

American

[hak-need] / ˈhæk nid /

adjective

made commonplace or trite; stale; banal.

the hackneyed images of his poetry.

Synonyms:

overdone

hackneyed British

/ ˈhæknɪd /

adjective

(of phrases, fashions, etc) used so often as to be trite, dull, and stereotyped

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See commonplace.

Other Word Forms

nonhackneyed adjective
unhackneyed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hackneyed

First recorded in 1740–50; hackney + -ed ²

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 film rests in a dismal tone for so long that its gloominess becomes sappy, making the ending feel hackneyed and inevitable.

From Salon

Nonetheless, “Chess” leans primarily on a classic—or hackneyed?—dramatic trope: the love triangle.

From The Wall Street Journal

Though the “crazy woman” trope inevitably persists in some form, it looks far more hackneyed than it did during its late-millennium heyday.

From Salon

This hackneyed slippery slope argument – conflating entirely fair criticism of the court with fears of political violence – would be laughed out of any serious courtroom.

From Salon

Wears said she disapproved of Trump’s “hackneyed anecdotes from the locker room,” telling ABC News his speech was “inappropriate” and a waste of voters’ time.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023