platitude
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
plat·i·tude
(plăt'ĭ-tūd', -tyūd') 
n.
platitudinously plat'i·tu'di·nous·ly adv.
n.
- A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. See synonyms at cliché.
- Lack of originality; triteness.
[French, from plat, flat, from Old French. See plate.]
platitudinous plat'i·tu'di·nous (-tūd'n-əs, -tyūd'-) or plat'i·tu'di·nal (-tūd'n-əl, -tyūd'-) adj.platitudinously plat'i·tu'di·nous·ly adv.
Roget's Thesaurus:
Top
platitude
noun
- A trite expression or idea: banality, bromide, cliché, commonplace, stereotype, truism. See surprise/expect.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
Top
platitude
n
Definition: dullness; overused saying
Antonyms: coinage, nuance
Devil's Dictionary:
Top
platitude
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million fools in the diction of a dullard. A fossil sentiment in artificial rock. A moral without the fable. All that is mortal of a departed truth. A demi-tasse of milk-and-mortality. The Pope's-nose of a featherless peacock. A jelly-fish withering on the shore of the sea of thought. The cackle surviving the egg. A desiccated epigram.
Quotes About:
Top
Platitudes
Quotes:
"In spite of his practical ability, some of his experience had petrified into maxims and quotations."
- George Eliot
"The Republicans stroke platitudes until they purr like epigrams."
- Adlai E. Stevenson
"In modern life nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin."
- Oscar Wilde
Random House Word Menu:
Top
categories related to 'platitude'
- Rhetoric and Figures of Speech - platitude: trite or commonplace remark; cliché
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Platitude
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011) |
This article is about the term Platitude. For the Swedish progressive metal band Platitude, see Platitude (band).
 |
Look up platitude in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
A platitude is a trite, meaningless, biased, or prosaic statement, often presented as if it were significant and original. The word derives from plat, the French word for "flat." Whether any given statement is considered to have meaning is highly subjective, so platitude is often—but not always—used as a pejorative term to describe seemingly profound statements that a certain person views as unoriginal or shallow. Examples of statements which could be considered platitudes could be "The power of friendship", "Go with the flow", "Everything happens for a reason", "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be", and "We need to do what we can do."
See also
Sources
 |
This vocabulary-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Top
Platitude
Dansk (Danish)
n. - floskel, banalitet
Nederlands (Dutch)
nietszeggende opmerking (platheid), het gebruik van platheden, het saai/ nietszeggend zijn
Français (French)
n. - platitude, lieu commun
Deutsch (German)
n. - Platitüde, Gemeinplatz
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κοινοτοπία, τετριμμένη έκφραση
Português (Portuguese)
n. - lugar comum (m), trivialidade (f)
Español (Spanish)
n. - tópico, lugar común
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - plattityd
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
单调, 陈腐, 平凡
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 單調, 陳腐, 平凡
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 単調, 平凡, 陳腐, 平凡な説, きまり文句
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) تفاهه, ابتذال, ملاحظه مبتذله
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - שטחיות, שגרתיות, אמרה חבוטה, משפט בנלי
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary
Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008
HarperCollins Publishers
All rights reserved.
Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Platitude.
Read more
