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 triteness
Historical Examples
You don't come it over me with the triteness of these round numbers.
Fantasia of the UnconsciousD. H. Lawrence
The triteness of his moral climax is occasionally startling.
Critical Miscellanies, Vol. IJohn Morley
Triteness is present, but that is to be expected in all amateur fiction.
Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Brouillard laughed and fell headlong into the pit of triteness.
The City of Numbered DaysFrancis Lynde
The triteness of words 'plus sonores que solides' is the second.
mile VerhaerenStefan Zweig
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
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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