Standard Lemma guide

cliché

adj · noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈkliː.ʃeɪ/
  • General-American: /kliˈʃeɪ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːʃeɪ
  • rhymes with -eɪ

1

adj

Meaning 1

Clichéd; having the characteristics of a cliché.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: proscribed, sometimes

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rhetoric

Examples

  • The villain kidnapping the love interest is a bit of a cliché.
  • I know it's a bit of a cliché, but love really does conquer all.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: convention, platitude, stereotype, trope, byword, saying, adage, saw, proverb, maxim, apothegm, apophthegm, dictum, gnome, gnomic saying, mantra, paroemia

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A stereotype (printing plate).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: media, printing, publishing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To use a cliché; to make up a word or a name that sounds like a cliché.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French cliché.

Across languages

Translations

117 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عِبَارَةٌ مُتَدَاوَلَة (ʕibāratun mutadāwala) — overused phrase or expression
  • Arabic: كْلِيشِيه (klīšīh) — overused phrase or expression
  • Armenian: կլիշե (kliše) — overused phrase or expression
  • Azerbaijani: klişe — overused phrase or expression
  • Belarusian: клішэ́ (klišé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Bulgarian: клише́ (klišé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Catalan: clixé — overused phrase or expression
  • Chinese Mandarin: 陳詞濫調 /陈词滥调 (chéncílàndiào) — overused phrase or expression
  • Chinese Mandarin: 老生常談 /老生常谈 (lǎoshēngchángtán) — overused phrase or expression
  • Chinese Mandarin: 老套 (lǎotào) — overused phrase or expression
  • Czech: klišé — overused phrase or expression
  • Danish: kliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Dutch: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Dutch: gemeenplaats — overused phrase or expression
  • Dutch: platitude — overused phrase or expression
  • Esperanto: kliŝo — overused phrase or expression
  • Estonian: klišee — overused phrase or expression
  • Finnish: klisee — overused phrase or expression
  • Finnish: latteus — overused phrase or expression
  • French: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • French: poncif — overused phrase or expression
  • French: lieu commun — overused phrase or expression
  • Galician: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Georgian: კლიშე (ḳliše) — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Klischee — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Gemeinplatz — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Stereotyp — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Banalität — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Abgedroschenheit — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Plattheit — overused phrase or expression
  • German: Floskel — overused phrase or expression
  • Greek: κλισέ (klisé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Greek: στερεότυπο (stereótypo) — overused phrase or expression
  • Hebrew: קְלִישָׁאָה (klisha'á) — overused phrase or expression
  • Hindi: क्लीशे (klīśe) — overused phrase or expression
  • Hungarian: klisé — overused phrase or expression
  • Hungarian: közhely — overused phrase or expression
  • Icelandic: klisja — overused phrase or expression
  • Icelandic: tugga — overused phrase or expression
  • Icelandic: gömul tugga — overused phrase or expression
  • Ido: klishuro — overused phrase or expression
  • Indonesian: klise — overused phrase or expression
  • Italian: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Italian: luogo comune — overused phrase or expression
  • Italian: stereotipo — overused phrase or expression
  • Japanese: 決まり文句 (kimari monku) — overused phrase or expression
  • Japanese: クリシェ (kurishe) — overused phrase or expression
  • Japanese: 常套語 (jōtōgo) — overused phrase or expression
  • Korean: 클리셰 (keullisye) — overused phrase or expression
  • Korean: 상투어 (sangtueo) — overused phrase or expression
  • Latin: platitudo — overused phrase or expression
  • Latvian: klišeja — overused phrase or expression
  • Lithuanian: klišė — overused phrase or expression
  • Macedonian: клише́ (klišé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Malay: klise — overused phrase or expression
  • Māori: (kupu) rārahu — overused phrase or expression
  • Norwegian Bokmål: klisjé — overused phrase or expression
  • Occitan: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Occitan: ponciu — overused phrase or expression
  • Occitan: lòc comun — overused phrase or expression
  • Iranian Persian: کِلیشِه (keliše) — overused phrase or expression
  • Polish: frazes — overused phrase or expression
  • Polish: komunał — overused phrase or expression
  • Polish: banał — overused phrase or expression
  • Polish: sztampa — overused phrase or expression
  • Polish: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Portuguese: clichê — overused phrase or expression
  • Portuguese: lugar-comum — overused phrase or expression
  • Portuguese: chavão — overused phrase or expression
  • Portuguese: platitude — overused phrase or expression
  • Romanian: clișeu — overused phrase or expression
  • Russian: клише́ (klišé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Russian: штамп (štamp) — overused phrase or expression
  • Serbo-Croatian: клѝше̄ — overused phrase or expression
  • Serbo-Croatian: klìšē — overused phrase or expression
  • Slovak: klišé — overused phrase or expression
  • Slovene: kliše — overused phrase or expression
  • Spanish: cliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Spanish: clisé — overused phrase or expression
  • Spanish: tópico — overused phrase or expression
  • Swedish: kliché — overused phrase or expression
  • Swedish: klyscha — overused phrase or expression
  • Tagalog: gasgas — overused phrase or expression
  • Turkish: klişe — overused phrase or expression
  • Ukrainian: кліше́ (klišé) — overused phrase or expression
  • Urdu: کِلِیشے (kilīśe) — overused phrase or expression
  • Urdu: کْلِیشے (klīśe) — overused phrase or expression
  • Uzbek: klishe — overused phrase or expression
  • Vietnamese: sáo ngữ — overused phrase or expression
  • Welsh: ystrydeb — overused phrase or expression
  • Belarusian: клішэ́ (klišé) — anything else that is overused
  • Bulgarian: клише́ (klišé) — anything else that is overused
  • Catalan: clixé — anything else that is overused
  • Esperanto: kliŝo — anything else that is overused
  • Finnish: klisee — anything else that is overused
  • French: platitude — anything else that is overused
  • French: lieu commun — anything else that is overused
  • Galician: cliché — anything else that is overused
  • German: Klischee — anything else that is overused
  • German: Versatzstück — anything else that is overused
  • Greek: στερεότυπο (stereótypo) — anything else that is overused
  • Hebrew: קְלִישָׁאָה (klisha'á) — anything else that is overused
  • Ido: klishuro — anything else that is overused
  • Indonesian: klise — anything else that is overused
  • Japanese: クリシェ (kurishe) — anything else that is overused
  • Korean: 클리셰 (keullisye) — anything else that is overused
  • Polish: cliché — anything else that is overused
  • Portuguese: clichê — anything else that is overused
  • Russian: клише́ (klišé) — anything else that is overused
  • Russian: штамп (štamp) — anything else that is overused
  • Serbo-Croatian: клѝше̄ — anything else that is overused
  • Serbo-Croatian: klìšē — anything else that is overused
  • Spanish: tópico — anything else that is overused
  • Tagalog: gasgas — anything else that is overused
  • Turkish: klişe — anything else that is overused
  • Ukrainian: кліше́ (klišé) — anything else that is overused
  • Welsh: ystrydeb — anything else that is overused