trite
[trahyt]
- 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.
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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
See more synonyms for trite on Thesaurus.com1. ordinary.
Synonym study
1. See commonplace.
Antonyms
1. original.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trite
Contemporary Examples
The things Lindsay shows Lohan doing should be trite and calming.
The Daily Pic: A watercolor shows how the great painter mixed the radical and the trite.
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 ItPatrick Smith
October 11, 2012
The show may be trite, but Disney wisely had theater favorite Harvey Fierstein write the book.
They also have to be two words, and neither of them can be "exotic" or "trite," or commercial trademarks, or the word "operation."
Historical Examples
Instinct is a sure guide, it always tends to what is useful and trite.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
For a while they talked of trite and inconsequential things.
The Harbor of DoubtFrank Williams
It would be trite to dwell on the particulars of her after story.
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.Washington Irving
It is a trite remark that diamonds can be polished only by diamond dust.
The Life of Napoleon BonaparteWilliam Milligan Sloane
This last jest is so trite to-day as to be absolutely threadbare.
trite
- hackneyed; dulla trite comment
- archaic frayed or worn out
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Word Origin
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
Word Origin and History for trite
adj.
1540s, from Latin tritus "worn, familiar," from past participle of terere "to rub, wear down" (see throw (v.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper