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What is the Difference Between cliché and stereotype?
The words cliché and stereotype have a good deal in common. Both come from French, both were originally printers’ terms, and both have come to take on somewhat negative meanings in modern use.
Their original meanings are essentially synonymous, referring to printing blocks from which numerous prints could be made. In fact, cliché means stereotype in French. Their modern meanings, however, are quite distinct. Cliché is today overwhelmingly encountered in reference to something hackneyed, such as an overly familiar or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression. Stereotype is most frequently now employed to refer to an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.
Synonyms
Examples of cliché in a Sentence
William F. Buckley, Jr., National Review, 1 May 2000
FILM "I Like It Like That": It has every cliché of the 'hood genre, elevated by a strong woman protagonist and a few comic moments.
—Bell Hooks, Ms., September/October 1994
I'd never been out with a model before, so I hadn't even bargained on the cliché of the rock star and the model as being part of my life.
—David Bowie, quoted in Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993
Time has been the best healer for the pain of loss, just as the old cliché says, but letting go is still difficult.
—Lynn McAndrews, My Father Forgets, 1990
… don't seek the ultimate, general solution; find a corner that can be defined precisely and, as our new cliché proclaims, go for it.
—Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, July 1987
a speech filled with clichés about “finding your way” and “keeping the faith”
The macho cop of Hollywood movies has become a cliché.
Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 16 Nov. 2024
The production’s simplicity ditched the cliches that have accumulated around the play over decades.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
The trick to cultivating a distinct identity on LinkedIn is to focus on sharing your unique insights, shaped by your experiences, and ignore the cliches.
—John Marino, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Parisian cliches existed before the show and will persist after it.
—Gabrielle Pedriani, StyleCaster, 12 Sep. 2024
The race for the White House is sucking up all the oxygen, to echo an old political cliche.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024
Hulu, Max 'Tucker & Dale vs. Evil' (2010) Spoofing slashers and their tired cliches with a new perspective, the comedy features Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine as good-natured hillbillies assumed to be backwoods psycho killers by a bunch of college students.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024
At the risk of using memorial-service cliches, this feels like a celebration of life — of Bennington’s, yes, but also of everyone else in the band who deserves a chance to carry on and thrive.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
The album is flat, coasting on cascades of lyrical cliches and musical ideas that rarely crest.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 20 Sep. 2024
Articles Related to cliché
Dictionary Entries Near cliché
Cite this Entry
“Cliché.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clich%C3%A9. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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cliché
noun
French, literally, "metal printing plate"
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