as in cliches
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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Recent Examples of tropes
The report also found certain antisemitic tropes, some that date back to Shakespeare’s times — the greedy Shylock, the nebbish man, the overbearing Jewish mother — are still alive.
—
Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
To promote more diverse and nuanced depictions of Jewish Americans, the study recommended elevating Jewish characters whose stories often remain untold; being mindful of tropes that associate Jews with money or power; and giving voice to Jewish pride and joy.
—Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
For every scrap of unique texture, there’s a reminder that A Complete Unknown is content to indulge in the most shopworn tropes of musical biopics.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2024
The ’80s were awash in teen stories and maybe the show is using music from that era to invoke all those tropes in order to better subvert them.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 6 Dec. 2024
The episode leaned into the comedy of satirizing all the tropes of parenthood, bringing the laughs to balance the extremely heavy and real conversations John and Jane were having throughout.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Right-wing influencers already exploit protector-provider tropes to give young men a sense of identity, but there’s room for the political mainstream to work with these themes, too — without maligning women in the process.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
Powell inhabits a handful of tough guys and embodies a few more idiosyncratic tropes—a long-haired Russian, a Patrick Bateman power-suit type, and a character seemingly inspired by Tilda Swinton—to convince his marks.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2024
There are dragons and trolls in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, along with important swords and a race of long-lived elflike people called the Sithi, but Williams subverts the usual tropes.
—Sarah Jones, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
To promote more diverse and nuanced depictions of Jewish Americans, the study recommended elevating Jewish characters whose stories often remain untold; being mindful of tropes that associate Jews with money or power; and giving voice to Jewish pride and joy.
—Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024
For every scrap of unique texture, there’s a reminder that A Complete Unknown is content to indulge in the most shopworn tropes of musical biopics.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2024
The ’80s were awash in teen stories and maybe the show is using music from that era to invoke all those tropes in order to better subvert them.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 6 Dec. 2024
The episode leaned into the comedy of satirizing all the tropes of parenthood, bringing the laughs to balance the extremely heavy and real conversations John and Jane were having throughout.
—Ew Staff, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Right-wing influencers already exploit protector-provider tropes to give young men a sense of identity, but there’s room for the political mainstream to work with these themes, too — without maligning women in the process.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
Powell inhabits a handful of tough guys and embodies a few more idiosyncratic tropes—a long-haired Russian, a Patrick Bateman power-suit type, and a character seemingly inspired by Tilda Swinton—to convince his marks.
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2024
There are dragons and trolls in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, along with important swords and a race of long-lived elflike people called the Sithi, but Williams subverts the usual tropes.
—Sarah Jones, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near tropes
Cite this Entry
“Tropes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tropes. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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