Platitudinal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by overused, unoriginal statements that sound meaningful but lack depth or insight
2. Marked by expressions or remarks that are clichéd and trite, devoid of originality or profound significance
3. Descriptive of ideas or comments that are predictably conventional and lack any fresh perspective or depth

Etymology: "Platitudinal" is "platitude" with the adjective ending "-al" attached, but the ending came in by analogy rather than by direct inheritance. "Platitude" itself was borrowed from French "platitude," which meant flatness or dullness, from "plat," flat. The sense of a flat, dull remark that has been said too often came later, so the word began as a description of a surface before it described speech. The adjective was formed on the pattern of older words ending in "-tudinal," such as "latitudinal" and "longitudinal." Those words were built from Latin "-tūdō," a suffix for abstract nouns, whose stem "-tūdin-" appears before adjectival endings. English speakers simply reused that familiar sound pattern, so "platitudinal" looks Latin even though its ending was shaped by English analogy with existing adjectives.

Synonyms: trite, hackneyed, stale, banal, cliché

Antonyms: original, novel, innovative, fresh, unique