banal
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ba·nal
(bə-năl′, bā′nəl, bə-näl′)adj.
Drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite: "Blunt language cannot hide a banal conception" (James Wolcott).
[French, from Old French, shared by tenants in a feudal jurisdiction, from ban, summons to military service, of Germanic origin; see bhā- in Indo-European roots.]
ba·nal′ize′ v.
ba·nal′ly adv.
Usage Note: The pronunciation of banal is not settled among educated speakers of American English, and several variants compete with each other. The pronunciation (bə-năl′), rhyming with canal, was preferred by 58 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2001 survey, while 28 percent favored (bā′nəl), and 13 percent said they used (bə-näl′), a pronunciation that is more common in British English. A number of Panelists admitted to being so vexed by the word that they tended to avoid it in conversation. Nonetheless, all three pronunciations should be considered acceptable.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
banal
(bəˈnɑːl)adj
lacking force or originality; trite; commonplace
[C18: from Old French: relating to compulsory feudal service, hence common to all, commonplace; from ban ban2]
banality n
baˈnally adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ba•nal
(bəˈnæl, -ˈnɑl, ˈbeɪn l)adj.
devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite.
ba•nal′i•ty, n.
ba•nal′ly, adv.
syn: See commonplace.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Adj. | 1. | banal - repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'" unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
banal
adjective unoriginal, stock, ordinary, boring, tired, routine, dull, everyday, stereotypical, pedestrian, commonplace, mundane, tedious, vanilla (slang), dreary, stale, tiresome, monotonous, humdrum, threadbare, trite, unimaginative, uneventful, uninteresting, clichéd, old hat, mind-numbing, hackneyed, ho-hum (informal), vapid, repetitious, wearisome, platitudinous, cliché-ridden, unvaried The text is banal.
new, interesting, challenging, original, fresh, novel, unique, unusual, stimulating, distinctive, imaginative, ground-breaking
new, interesting, challenging, original, fresh, novel, unique, unusual, stimulating, distinctive, imaginative, ground-breaking
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
banal
adjectiveWithout freshness or appeal because of overuse:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
banal
banální
itsestäänselvälattea
banal
banalnabanalnebanalnibanalny
banal
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
banal
adj → banal
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995