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trite

[trahyt]
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adjective, trit·er, trit·est.
  1. lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition; hackneyed; stale: the trite phrases in his letter.
  2. characterized by hackneyed expressions, ideas, etc.: The commencement address was trite and endlessly long.
  3. 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
Related formstrite·ly, adverbtrite·ness, nounun·trite, adjectiveun·trite·ly, adverbun·trite·ness, noun

Synonyms for trite

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1. ordinary.

Synonym study

1. See commonplace.

Antonyms for trite

1. original.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for triteness

banality, bromide, nostalgia, melodrama, stereotype, tag, flatness, shibboleth, saw, truism, triviality, evenness, vapidity, buzzword, commonplace, monotony, proverb, motto, verbiage, inanity

Examples from the Web for triteness

Historical Examples of triteness

  • You don't come it over me with the triteness of these round numbers.

    Fantasia of the Unconscious

    D. H. Lawrence

  • The triteness of his moral climax is occasionally startling.

  • Triteness is present, but that is to be expected in all amateur fiction.

  • Brouillard laughed and fell headlong into the pit of triteness.

  • The triteness of words 'plus sonores que solides' is the second.

    mile Verhaeren

    Stefan Zweig

British Dictionary definitions for triteness

trite

adjective
  1. hackneyed; dulla trite comment
  2. archaic frayed or worn out
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Derived Formstritely, 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

Word Origin and History for triteness

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