platitudinous

a.

Abounding in platitudes; of the nature of platitudes; uttering platitudes. -- Plat·i·tu·di·nous·ness, n.

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For someone who claims to come with fresh ideas, platitudinous is perhaps the most devastating insult possible. That's what columnist Maureen Dowd called the writing of presidential candidate Barack Obama in a recent op-ed:

"Obama has been trying to beef up his image for months — including writing a platitudinous manifesto in the new Foreign Affairs — but the buzz is still about his beefcake side."

Link: Can He Crush Hillary? - New York Times

Posted June 17, 2007.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Without freshness or appeal because of overuse: banal, bromidic, clichéd, commonplace, corny, hackneyed, musty, overused, overworked, platitudinal, shopworn, stale, stereotyped, stereotypic, stereotypical, threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, warmed-over, well-worn, worn-out. See excite/bore/interest, usual/unusual.

IN BRIEF: Dull and tiresome with pretensions of significance. Also: Full of stale or dull remarks.

The candidate's platitudinous speech was long and delivered in a monotone.

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The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: dull and tiresome but with pretensions of significance or originality
  Synonyms: bromidic, corny, platitudinal

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