platitude

[ plat-i-tood, -tyood ]

/ ˈplæt ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR platitude ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a flat, dull, or trite remark, especially one uttered as if it were fresh or profound.

the quality or state of being flat, dull, or trite: the platitude of most political oratory.

Nearby words

platinum black, platinum blonde, platinum disc, platinum metal, platinum-blond, platitude, platitudinal, platitudinarian, platitudinize, platitudinous, plato

Origin of platitude

1805–15; < French: literally, flatness, equivalent to plat flat (see plate¹) + -itude, as in French latitude, altitude, magnitude, etc.

SYNONYMS FOR platitude

1 cliché, truism.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR platitude ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confused

platitude plaudit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for platitude

Morning talk shows should be a doddle for a President: softball questions easily answered with a platitude or three.
‘Michelle Will Not Run For Office’: Obama's Daytime TV Confessional|Lloyd Grove|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But how does one square his platitude with the reality of his situation?
March on Washington in 1963 Was Truly Militant, Despite Portrayals|Jamelle Bouie|August 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I thought this was a kind of platitude, but she corrected me.
Terrorists Kidnap a Hero|Eliza Griswold|May 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Although this sounds like a platitude, it has frequently been ignored.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others

It is a platitude, and none the less true for that, that we need to have an ideal in our minds with which to test all realities.
Alarms and Discursions|G. K. Chesterton
Mrs. Amber murmured protestingly, but, not knowing what a platitude was, felt she could not follow up the subject.
Married Life|May Edginton
Cheap wit will then often pass for brilliancy, and platitude for wisdom.
Little Journeys To the Homes of the Great, Volume 3 (of 14)|Elbert Hubbard
Platitude though this may be, our greatest poets have not hesitated to use their highest powers to impress it upon us.
Socialism: Positive and Negative|Robert Rives La Monte

British Dictionary definitions for platitude

platitude

/ (ˈplætɪˌtjuːd) /

noun

a trite, dull, or obvious remark or statement; a commonplace

staleness or insipidity of thought or language; triteness

Derived Forms

platitudinous, adjective

Word Origin for platitude

C19: from French, literally: flatness, from plat flat

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

platitude

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of platitude

SYNONYMS FOR platitude

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for platitude

British Dictionary definitions for platitude

platitude

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for platitude