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Definition of commonplacenext
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as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people the familiar summertime commonplace that "It's not the heat, it's the humidity"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of commonplace
Adjective
Talk of journeys became commonplace at book clubs and preschool pickups. — Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026 Metallic silhouettes are commonplace for celebrities, especially musicians, since they can easily be seen on stage. — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026
Noun
Or is this commonplace in NBA transactions? — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 3 May 2026 In the early 2000s, Sears began to use its website — the new iteration of its catalog — to help pioneer the now-commonplace practices of buying goods online and picking them up in store. — Domenica Bongiovanni, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for commonplace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonplace
Adjective
  • After The Dick Van Dyke Show wrapped, Matthews returned to a normal childhood life and attended UCLA.
    — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Vertical speeds during normal operations rarely exceed plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, FlightRadar24 said.
    — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The game show is based around those ubiquitous internet verification tests that check if the visitor to a website is human or a bot.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But in an age where AI-assisted writing is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, the distinctly unpolished text has its own charm.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 7 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Despite their outer appearances and oftentimes stereotyped personalities, the ladies embrace each other’s depths and contradictions.
    — Meagan Jordan, VIBE.com, 10 July 2026
  • This is a directed, stereotyped behavior in which the highest-resolution region of the somatosensory surface is brought to bear on the object requiring the most detailed analysis.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Noun
  • With all the hype surrounding potential uses of AI tools, this is a truism that too often gets forgotten.
    — Bryan Mistele, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Wars cannot be fought on ideology alone – a truism that perhaps led to the firebrand former defense minister’s departure, after months of clashes and refusing to deal with the army top brass, as Zelensky describes it.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Once considered an ordinary metal, it was found in 2019 to become superconducting below about 2 kelvins.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Things that seem strange or even barbaric to us today were sometimes considered perfectly ordinary at another point in history.
    — Jim Dudlicek, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The products were Park Hyatt’s usual—delicious-smelling La Labo toiletries.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • There’s deals on makeup, too, like the Ilia Limitless Mascara at 20% off for just $23 compared to its usual $30.
    — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 7 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Billed as an immersive matchmaking experience and a new take on the dating show, the format features singletons who are tired of swiping and first dates and are ready to get hitched.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Valadao, meanwhile, cast himself as an experienced policymaker who delivers for the region and dismissed the criticism as the political bickering voters are tired of.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • There’s so much premeditation and passion into doing that, and to actually play that with no music and just the sound and the banality of a lifeless body being hit by some blunt instrument is very viscerally upsetting.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Commonplace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonplace. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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