ˈtrīt, usu -īd.+V adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Latin tritus, past participle of terere to rub, wear out by use, make trite — more at throw
1.
a. : used or occurring so often as to have lost interest, freshness, or force : stale , vapid
trite diction
a trite and commonplace observation — Earl of Chesterfield
a subject which will seem trite to some — J.M.Moore
a trite plot
b. : characterized by commonplace expression, treatment, or point of view : composed of or employing clichés or platitudes
a trite speech
poet … can be not only trite , he can be pompous, inflated — Times Literary Supplement
too many trite objects in shiny yellow brass or dull black iron — New Yorker
2.
a. : worn by much rubbing
trite coins
b. : much-traveled : beaten
a trite path
all these regions are trite and familiar — Norman Douglas
Synonyms:
trite , hackneyed , stereotyped , threadbare , and shopworn all apply to something, especially a once effective idea or expression in writing or art or a dramatic plot, lacking the power to evoke attention or interest because it lacks freshness. trite applies to something spoiled by too long familiarity with it, suggesting commonplaceness or total lack of power to impress
the foregoing remarks doubtless sound trite and commonplace — M.R.Cohen
it is as true as it is trite to liken the desert to a sea and the camel to a ship — C.S.Coon
one could wish however that he had found a less trite and commonplace way of ending his chapters — Geographical Journal
hackneyed , often interchangeable with trite , stresses the idea of such constant use that all significance or force is dulled or destroyed
the hackneyed pictures we have seen again and again — C.M.Smith
used the hackneyed old theme of the vanity of earthly power for one of his best poems — Susanne K. Langer
a hackneyed and cheap melodrama
stereotyped stresses an imitative quality, a usually total lack of originality or creativity
most advertising today is stereotyped — using the same words, the same ideas that we have had for more than 50 years — Printers' Ink
a stereotyped novel about a young girl growing to womanhood
threadbare applies to what has been used or exploited so much that its possibilities of interest have been totally exhausted
when one writer hit upon a good phrase the others took it up and used it until it became threadbare — Stanley Walker
this charge is becoming threadbare with repetition — J.H.Pollack
our self-deceptive pretence of jollity at a threadbare joke — Nathaniel Hawthorne
shopworn suggests a loss, from constant use, of some or most of the qualities that appeal or arouse interest
there hardly exists a more shopworn plot than the one about the show that during its preparation has to battle against all sorts of obstacles to emerge in the end a sensational success — Vicki Baum
when a book as unusual as this appears the old adjectives seem too shopworn to do it justice — Graham Bates
he has devoted his very considerable talents to a shopworn theme: the building of the first space platform — J.F.McComas