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.

Unfortunately, though, Cooper can’t escape certain hackneyed biopic tropes in representing the songwriting, which are almost impossible to avoid.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

Early reviews called her music "hackneyed", "lightweight" and "emotionless".

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024

Since Cher is among the first to lead the auto-tune revolution, referred to as the “Cher effect” for a time, one might forgive her for popularizing the technique into hackneyed overuse.

From Salon • Oct. 20, 2023

The Ping-Pong table was surrounded by silent reminders of a singular college career — purple helmets, signed footballs, All-Pac-10 plaques, framed articles from Sports Illustrated and The Seattle Times featuring delightfully hackneyed headlines:

From Seattle Times • Oct. 6, 2023

“Fifty years,” I hackneyed, “is a long time.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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