hackneyed

[hak-need]

adjective

1. made commonplace or trite; stale; banal.

   the hackneyed images of his poetry.

   Synonyms: overdone

hackneyed

/ ˈhæknɪd /

adjective

1. (of phrases, fashions, etc) used so often as to be trite, dull, and stereotyped

Other Word Forms

• nonhackneyed adjective
• unhackneyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackneyed¹

First recorded in 1740–50; hackney + -ed ²

Synonym Study

See commonplace.

Example Sentences

Though the “crazy woman” trope inevitably persists in some form, it looks far more hackneyed than it did during its late-millennium heyday.

From Salon

This hackneyed slippery slope argument – conflating entirely fair criticism of the court with fears of political violence – would be laughed out of any serious courtroom.

From Salon

Wears said she disapproved of Trump’s “hackneyed anecdotes from the locker room,” telling ABC News his speech was “inappropriate” and a waste of voters’ time.

From Salon

Early reviews called her music "hackneyed", "lightweight" and "emotionless".

From BBC

Juicy loves Tedra not in the Freudian manner of hackneyed “Hamlet” productions but in the protective way of an outcast who wishes to shield his fabulous mom from the blows of life.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• banal 
• corny 
• stale 
• threadbare 
• timeworn 
• trite 
• well-worn