as in cliché
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 trope
Not in terms of the scale of its sets—we’ll leave that to the giant staircase in The Queen of Versailles, or whatever is going on with the flying vampires of The Lost Boys—but in terms of the most tropes crammed into one two-act stretch.
—
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2026
This new flood of venture-capitalist-as-influencer platforms has promoted and naturalized a distinctive military-industrial idiom that closely—and strangely—apes certain twentieth-century artistic tropes.
—Simon Denny, Artforum, 20 Apr. 2026
Available in a punchy red or sleek chrome, the set also makes an especially cheeky housewarming gift, riffing on the classic trope of bringing scented candles to new homeowners.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Apr. 2026
One trope that Aster doesn't like is unrequited love, in which one character's love for another goes unreciprocated.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trope
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2026
This new flood of venture-capitalist-as-influencer platforms has promoted and naturalized a distinctive military-industrial idiom that closely—and strangely—apes certain twentieth-century artistic tropes.
—Simon Denny, Artforum, 20 Apr. 2026
Available in a punchy red or sleek chrome, the set also makes an especially cheeky housewarming gift, riffing on the classic trope of bringing scented candles to new homeowners.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Apr. 2026
One trope that Aster doesn't like is unrequited love, in which one character's love for another goes unreciprocated.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for trope
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trope
Noun
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Ever since, intelligence officers have ruefully invoked that truism whenever they’re blamed for a major screwup.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
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But, travel experts say, that truism doesn't apply during this tumultuous period.—
ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In the early 2000s, Sears began to use its website — the new iteration of its catalog — to help pioneer the now-commonplace practices of buying goods online and picking them up in store.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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By the time Szeemann was invited to organize two consecutive installments of the Venice Biennale (in 1999 and 2001), the criticism of curators’ assuming the role of meta-artists, in Szeemann’s case with quasi-shamanistic aspirations, had become a commonplace.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Neville is smart enough as a documentarian to leave out platitudes, but also to let access to Michaels’ Maine retreat be a vibe rather than some knockout reveal.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
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But for UConn, the platitudes feel profoundly honest.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trope.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trope. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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