Cliche

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kliˈʃeɪ/

Definitions

1. An overused phrase, idea, or expression that has lost its original impact through excessive repetition and familiarity
2. A trite and unoriginal idea or phrase that has become predictable and lacks freshness due to its frequent use
3. A commonly encountered expression or notion that has become dull and uninspiring because of its excessive repetition

Etymology: The word is a borrowing from French "cliché", and its French form comes from the verb "clicher", which in printing meant to make a plate by striking molten metal against a mould. Printers used the resulting cast block to reproduce the same image again and again, and that repeatability is the thread that links the trade to the modern sense. The French noun "cliché" came to describe the printing plate itself, and then, by extension, any image or phrase that had been stamped out so often it lost its freshness. English took the French word directly, keeping the accent in its original spelling for a long time, and it is now commonly written without it as "cliche". The modern meaning therefore depends on mechanical reproduction: a phrase that is a cliché is one that has been printed, copied and passed around so many times that each impression has grown faint.

Synonyms: stereotype, platitude, banality

Antonyms: originality, novelty, innovation