cliché
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkliːʃeɪ/
- Rhymes: -iːʃeɪ
- (US) enPR: klē-shāʹ, IPA(key): /kliːˈʃeɪ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪ
NounEdit
cliché (plural clichés)
- Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude. [from 19th c.]
- The villain kidnapping the love interest in a film is a bit of a cliché.
- I know it's a bit of a cliché, but love really does conquer all.
- (printing) A stereotype (printing plate).
Usage notesEdit
- The alternative spelling cliche may be used without confusion, as there is no other word in English with this spelling. (Contrast résumé, resumé.)
SynonymsEdit
- platitude
- stereotype
- See also Thesaurus:saying
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
overused phrase or expression
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anything (other than a phrase) that is overused
AdjectiveEdit
cliché (comparative more cliché, superlative most cliché)
- (proscribed) clichéd; having the characteristics of a cliché
VerbEdit
cliché (third-person singular simple present clichés, present participle clichéing, simple past and past participle clichéd or (rare) clichéed)
- (transitive, intransitive) To use a cliché; to make up a word or a name that sounds like a cliché.
- 2015, Huping Ling, Allan W. Austin, Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia
- While most of these small, family-owned eateries were mired in drab décor and had clichéd names like Golden Wok or China Gate, they made up for the kitsch with inexpensive prices.
- 2015, Shonda Rhimes, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
- He clichéd at me. He clichéd at me in a perky, condescending tone.
- 2015, Huping Ling, Allan W. Austin, Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia
AnagramsEdit
DutchEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
cliché n (plural clichés, diminutive clichétje n)
- A cliché.
- An unoriginal work.
- A printing plate, a stereotype.
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
Past participle of clicher (“to stereotype, (originally) to copy”, literally “to click, clink”), from Middle French clicher, from Old French cliquer (“to click, clack, sound, resound”), of Germanic origin, related to Dutch klikken (“to click, rattle”), Low German klikken (“to click”), German klicken (“to click”), Danish klikke (“to click”), Swedish klicka (“to click”). Probably onomatopoeic, and probably influenced by Middle High German klitsch (“soft, pulpy mass”), from the old technique of creating a printing plate. More at click.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
cliché m (plural clichés)
- (printing) stereotype (printing plate)
- La reproduction dans la presse de dessins et de photographies se fait au moyen de clichés typographiques.
- The reproduction in the press of drawings and photographs is done by means of typographical clichés.
- (photography) negative
- (by extension) snapshot
- prendre un cliché ― take a snapshot
- (figuratively) cliché; stereotype (overused phrase or expression)
SynonymsEdit
- (overused phrase): banalité, idée reçue, lieu commun, stéréotype
DescendantsEdit
- → Catalan: clixé
- → Czech: klišé
- → Danish: kliché, kliche
- → English: cliché
- → Estonian: klišee
- → Finnish: klisee
- → Galician: clixé
- → German: Klischee
- → Hungarian: klisé
- → Icelandic: klisja
- → Macedonian: клише́ (klišé)
- → Portuguese: clichê
- → Russian: клише́ (klišé)
- → Serbo-Croatian: klìšē/клѝше̄
- → Slovak: klišé
- → Slovene: kliše
- → Spanish: cliché
- → Turkish: klişe
Further readingEdit
- “cliché” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
ItalianEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
NounEdit
cliché m (invariable)
AnagramsEdit
PolishEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
cliché n
DeclensionEdit
Indeclinable.
Further readingEdit
- cliché in Polish dictionaries at PWN
SpanishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
cliché m (plural clichés)