trite

[ trahyt ]

/ traɪt /

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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.

Nearby words

trisyllable, trit., tritagonist, tritanomaly, tritanopia, trite, tritheism, trithing, tritiate, triticale, triticum

Origin of trite

1540–50; < Latin trītus worn, common, equivalent to trī- (variant stem of terere to rub, wear down) + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR trite

1 ordinary.

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ANTONYMS FOR trite

1 original.

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Related forms

trite·ly, adverbtrite·ness, nounun·trite, adjectiveun·trite·ly, adverb

un·trite·ness, noun

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

The things Lindsay shows Lohan doing should be trite and calming.
Lindsay Lohan’s Reality Show Is the Most Stressful Thing on TV|Kevin Fallon|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Pic: A watercolor shows how the great painter mixed the radical and the trite.
Cezanne's Cliches|Blake Gopnik|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Did something so trite really belong on the letters page of the world's most important newspaper?
Think American Airlines Is Rotten? You Have No Idea How Good You Have It|Patrick Smith|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The show may be trite, but Disney wisely had theater favorite Harvey Fierstein write the book.
The Tony Awards Are About a Lot More Than Theatrical Excellence|Janice Kaplan|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

They also have to be two words, and neither of them can be "exotic" or "trite," or commercial trademarks, or the word "operation."
Why Is the Libya War Called Operation Odyssey Dawn?|Josh Dzieza|March 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
You may think this obvious and what you call a trite observation.
Memoir of John Howe Peyton|Various
There is a trite proverb to the effect that the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Garcia the Centenarian And His Times|M. Sterling Mackinlay
All this had been so sudden that, to use the trite phrase,—for no other is so expressive,—it was like a dream.
The Caxtons, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
It is a trite remark that diamonds can be polished only by diamond dust.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
Yet every now and then their references to everyday happenings were trite enough.
The Evil Shepherd|E. Phillips Oppenheim

British Dictionary definitions for trite

trite

/ (traɪt) /

adjective

hackneyed; dulla trite comment

archaic frayed or worn out

Derived Forms

tritely, adverbtriteness, noun

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