trite
[ trahyt ]
/ traɪt /
adjective, trit·er, trit·est.
lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition; hackneyed; stale: the trite phrases in his letter.
characterized by hackneyed expressions, ideas, etc.: The commencement address was trite and endlessly long.
Archaic. rubbed or worn by use.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
banal, dull, corny, hackneyed, chain, common, drained, exhausted, flat, hokey, jejune, moth-eaten, musty, ordinary, pedestrian, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, set, shopworn
Nearby words
- trisyllable,
- trit.,
- tritagonist,
- tritanomaly,
- tritanopia,
- tritely,
- tritheism,
- trithing,
- tritiate,
- triticale
Origin of trite
1540–50; < Latin trītus worn, common, equivalent to trī- (variant stem of terere to rub, wear down) + -tus past participle suffix
Synonym study
1. See commonplace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for trite
trite
/ (traɪt) /
adjective
hackneyed; dulla trite comment
archaic frayed or worn out
Word Origin for trite
C16: from Latin trītus worn down, from terere to rub
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
trite
1540s, from Latin tritus "worn, familiar," from past participle of terere "to rub, wear down" (see throw (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper