as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes the narrative trope of two rival characters falling in love by the end of the story

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trope Shows such as Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire Slayer settled on the trope of a hellish world reachable only through science-fiction portals. K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025 Carrey effectively plays against type as the heartbroken Joel, but the movie belongs to Winslet, who delivers one of her best performances as a character who seems like a classic manic pixie dream girl — but then turns the trope on its head. Janey Tracey, EW.com, 7 Feb. 2025 Riffing on the often sexist tropes of the romance genre while exploring the controversial nature of the slasher genre is a difficult task. Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Feb. 2025 Shrek, which amazingly competed against Mulholland Drive at Cannes, was a clever inversion of tropes that were familiar to the point of becoming stale. James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for trope 

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“Trope.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trope. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.

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