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cliché . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
cliché , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
cliché in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from French cliché .
Pronunciation
Noun
cliché (plural clichés )
Something, most often a phrase or expression , that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude .
Synonyms: platitude , stereotype ; see also Thesaurus:saying
The villain kidnapping the love interest in a film is a bit of a cliché .
2003 , “The Package ”, performed by A Perfect Circle :Clever got me this far Then tricky got me in Eye on what I'm after I don't need another friend Smile and drop the cliche Till you think I'm listening Take just what I came for Then I'm out the door again
2023 , “Remember All The Girls ”, performed by The Sherlocks :Don’t believe what they’re saying everything’s is gonna change How could it be ever the same? It’s just a cliché fading Till we go our separate ways
( printing ) A stereotype (printing plate).
Usage notes
The alternative spelling cliche may be used without confusion, as there is no other word in English with this spelling. (Contrast résumé , resumé .)
Derived terms
Translations
overused phrase or expression
Catalan: clixé m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 陳詞濫調 / 陈词滥调 (zh) ( chéncílàndiào ) , 老生常談 / 老生常谈 (zh) ( lǎoshēngchángtán ) , 老套 (zh) ( lǎotào )
Czech: klišé (cs) n
Dutch: cliché (nl) n , gemeenplaats (nl) f , platitude (nl) f
Esperanto: kliŝo (eo)
Finnish: klisee (fi) , latteus (fi)
French: cliché (fr) m , poncif (fr) m , lieu commun (fr) m
Galician: cliché (gl) m
Georgian: კლიშე ( ḳliše )
German: Klischee (de) n , Gemeinplatz (de) m , Stereotyp (de) n , Banalität (de) f , Abgedroschenheit f , Plattheit (de) f , Floskel (de) f
Greek: κλισέ (el) n ( klisé ) , στερεότυπο (el) n ( stereótypo )
Hebrew: קלישאה (he) f ( qlišaa )
Hungarian: klisé (hu) , közhely (hu)
Icelandic: klisja (is) f , tugga f ( rare ) , gömul tugga f
Ido: klishuro (io)
Indonesian: klise (id)
Italian: cliché (it) m
Japanese: 決まり文句 (ja) ( kimari monku )
Latin: platitudo f
Malay: klise
Maori: (kupu) rārahu
Norwegian: klisjé (no) n
Occitan: cliché (oc) m , ponciu m , lòc comun (oc)
Persian: کلیشه (fa) ( kliše )
Polish: frazes (pl) m , komunał (pl) m , banał (pl) m , sztampa f
Portuguese: clichê (pt) m , lugar-comum m , chavão (pt) m , platitude (pt) f
Romanian: clișeu (ro) n
Russian: клише́ (ru) n ( klišé ) , штамп (ru) m ( štamp )
Serbo-Croatian: kliše (sh) m
Slovak: fráza f
Spanish: cliché (es) m , clisé (es) m , tópico (es) m , clishé m
Swedish: kliché (sv) c , klyscha (sv) c
Tagalog: gasgas
Turkish: klişe (tr)
Vietnamese: sáo ngữ (vi)
Welsh: ystrydeb f
anything (other than a phrase) that is overused
Adjective
cliché (comparative more cliché , superlative most cliché )
( proscribed ) clichéd ; having the characteristics of a cliché
Verb
cliché (third-person singular simple present clichés , present participle clichéing , simple past and past participle clichéd or ( rare ) clichéed )
( transitive , intransitive ) To use a cliché; to make up a word or a name that sounds like a cliché.
2015 , Shonda Rhimes , Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person :He clichéd at me. He clichéd at me in a perky, condescending tone.
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French cliché .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /kliˈʃeː/
Hyphenation: cli‧ché
Rhymes: -eː
Noun
cliché n (plural clichés , diminutive clicheetje n )
a cliché
an unoriginal work
a printing plate , a stereotype
Derived terms
Descendants
French
Etymology
Past participle of clicher ( “ to stereotype, (originally) to copy ” , literally “ to click, clink ” ) , from Middle French clicher , from Old French cliquer ( “ to click, clack, sound, resound ” ) , of Germanic origin, related to Dutch klikken ( “ to click, rattle ” ) , Low German klikken ( “ to click ” ) , German klicken ( “ to click ” ) , Danish klikke ( “ to click ” ) , Swedish klicka ( “ to click ” ) . Probably onomatopoeic , and probably influenced by Middle High German klitsch ( “ soft, pulpy mass ” ) , from the old technique of creating a printing plate. More at click .
Pronunciation
Noun
cliché m (plural clichés )
( printing ) stereotype ( printing plate )
La reproduction dans la presse de dessins et de photographies se fait au moyen de clichés typographiques. The reproduction in the press of drawings and photographs is done by means of typographical clichés .
( photography ) negative
( by extension ) snapshot
prendre un cliché ― take a snapshot
( figurative ) cliché ; stereotype ( overused phrase or expression )
Synonyms: banalité , idée reçue , lieu commun , stéréotype
Descendants
Further reading
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French cliché .
Pronunciation
Noun
cliché m (invariable )
plate (printing)
cliché
References
Anagrams
Polish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French cliché . Doublet of klisza .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /kliˈʂɛ/
Rhymes: -ɛ
Syllabification: cli‧ché
Noun
cliché n (indeclinable )
( literary , rhetoric ) cliché ( overused phrase or expression )
Synonyms: klisza , szablon
Further reading
cliché in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from French cliché .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /kliˈt͡ʃe/
IPA (key ) : /kliˈʃe/
Rhymes: -e
Syllabification: cli‧ché
Noun
cliché m (plural clichés )
( printing ) cliché
( talking ) cliché
Synonym: tópico
Further reading
Anagrams