trite
UK/tɹaɪt//tɹaɪt/
trite adjective: used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed.
Adjective
trite (comparative triter, superlative tritest)
- used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed.
- It is a trite saying in a young country that anyone starting out in life with the determination to become wealthy will have his wish gratified.1897, W. B. Kimberly, History of West Australia : A Narrative of Her Past together with Biographies of Her Leading Men
- It is trite history – and trite law – to say that the law of the sea since that time [World War II] reflects a history of coastal State expansion.1994, Anthony Bergin, “The High Seas Regime – Pacific Trends and Developments”, in James Crawford, Donald R. Rothwell, editors, The Law of the Sea in the Asian Pacific Region: Developments and...
- Synonyms:
- banal, clichéd, played out, bathetic, bromidic, cheesy, stock, commonplace, corny, dog-eared
- So well established as to be beyond debate: trite law.
- It is trite to say that the mere fact that a decision does not favour the applicant or that the applicant disagrees with the decision does not establish that the decision is tainted with bias.2017, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Taucar v Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, 2017 ONSC 2604
Noun (1)
trite (plural trites)
- A denomination of coinage in ancient Greece equivalent to one third of a stater.
Noun (2)
trite (plural trites)
- In Ancient Greek musical theory, the lower-pitched of the two movable notes in the farther tetrachord on a lyre, pitched lower than the paranete and higher than the paramese.
trite meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
trite in Tamil
- மிக இயல்பான, பழகிச் சலித்த
trite in Urdu
- گھٹیا, گھسا پٹا, معمولی
trite in Malayalam
- പഴഞ്ചനായ, വിരസമായ
trite in Kannada
- ಹಳಸಲು, ಸವಕಲು, ತೀರ ಸಾಧಾರಣವಾದ, ಹಳಸಲಾದ, ನಿಸ್ಸಾರ, ಚರ್ವಿತ ಚರ್ವಣವಾದ
Examples of trite in a sentence
- Her people are equally simplistic and trite: evil outlaws, greedy opportunists and whores with hearts of gold.1999 November 2, Michiko Kakutani, “Books of The Times: A Single Girl Takes On the California Frontier”, in The New York Times (E section)...
- This show is sensationally absurd and trite, and if you watch it, you know it.2025 April 3, Marina Hyde, “It’s With Love, Meghan – not just a TV show but a landmark piece of art. And not in a good way”, in The...
Synonyms of trite
13 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of trite
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | triter |
| superlative | tritest |
| Noun | |
| plural | trites |
Origin of trite
From Latin trītus (“worn out”), perfect passive participle of terō (“to wear away, wear out”).
Unadapted borrowing from Latin tritē, from Ancient Greek τρίτη (trítē, literally “third [string]”).
Words formed from trite
Phrases with trite
Words that rhyme with trite
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- knight
- slight
- Dwight
- height
- sight
- night
- sprite
- fight
- parasite
- site
- alight
- smite
- all right
- blight
- might
- mite
- skite
- cite
- indite
- lite
- outright
- plight
- bight
- excite
- ignite
- invite
- overnight
- uptight
- wight
- accite
- alright
- benight
- bewrite
- blite
- copyright
- despite
- dight
- disunite
- finite
- flite
- hight
- incite
- recite
- relight
- rewrite
- sleight
- spite
- spright
Questions about trite
- What does trite mean?
- Trite means used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed.
- What is trite in Tamil?
- Trite in Tamil is மிக இயல்பான, பழகிச் சலித்த. See Trite meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use trite in a sentence?
- Her people are equally simplistic and trite: evil outlaws, greedy opportunists and whores with hearts of gold.
- What part of speech is trite?
- Trite can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce trite?
- Trite is pronounced /tɹaɪt/ (UK).
Words near trite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: trite (page history and authors); trite (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); trite (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); trite (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); trite (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-trite.ogg, en-au-trite.ogg.
Cite this entry: “trite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.