banality

noun

ba·​nal·​i·​ty bə-ˈna-lə-tē  bā- 

 also  ba-

plural banalities

1

: something that lacks originality, freshness, or novelty : something banal : commonplace

2

: the quality or state of lacking new or interesting qualities : the quality or state of being banal

Synonyms

• bromide
• chestnut
• cliché
• cliche
• commonplace
• groaner
• homily
• platitude
• shibboleth
• trope
• truism

Examples of banality in a Sentence

The trip offers an escape from the banalities of daily life.

We exchanged banalities about the weather.

The writing never rose above banality.

Recent Examples on the Web

The sunny banalities of New Labour had to give way to some hard truths: as Weber said, politics is drilling slowly through hard boards. —David Runciman, Foreign Affairs, 22 July 2013

An unusual picture of the banality of abusive behaviour challenging ideas of rapists as rare and slightly monstrous exceptions. —Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024

Drive anywhere in the States and you’ll be hypnotized by banality: Practically every new car looks the same, and the look is boring, pedestrian, smooth-brained. —Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 2 Oct. 2024

But that was before the psychological condition of Trump Derangement Syndrome reduced many gifted performers to banality. —Armond White, National Review, 18 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French banalité, from banal "available for general use, commonplace, banal" + -ité -ity

Note: The modern French word is probably an eighteenth-century coinage, and not continuous with Middle French bannalité "a feudal lord's right to extract usage fees, area under such a jurisdiction."

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1