cliched

cliched — 形容詞

1. describing a phrase, idea, or scene that has been repeated so many times in book

1.形容詞C1
釋義

陳腔濫調的

因被重複太多次而失去新意的

describing a phrase, idea, or scene that has been repeated so many times in books, films, or speech that it has lost its freshness and feels predictable to the listener.

例句

Hassan thought the film's ending was cliched, with the hero rescuing the city in the final second.

Hassan 覺得這部電影的結局很老套，英雄總是在最後一秒拯救整座城市。

predicative use after linking verb

The writing teacher warned Antonia to avoid cliched phrases like 'at the end of the day' in her essay.

寫作老師提醒 Antonia 在作文裡避免使用「總而言之」這種陳腔濫調的句子。

attributive: cliched + noun (phrases, expressions, lines)

同義詞
  • hackneyed

    more formal, written register

  • trite

    stronger; emphasises shallow and stale

  • stale

    broader; can describe news or food too

  • unoriginal

    neutral and direct; less judgemental

反義詞
  • fresh

    everyday opposite for ideas or language

  • original

    emphasises new and not copied

用法筆記

Frequently used both attributively (cliched + noun: phrase, line, ending, joke, image) and predicatively after 'sound', 'feel', 'seem', 'become'. Often softened by 'a bit', 'rather', 'somewhat' because calling something outright cliched is a strong negative judgement.

常見錯誤

❌His joke was very cliche.
✅His joke was very cliched.
💡'cliche' is the noun; the adjective form ends in -d.
❌The book is cliched on romantic love.
✅The book is full of cliched ideas about romantic love.
💡cliched describes the phrase or idea itself, not the topic; it does not take a preposition.