platitude

Definition

An often-quoted saying that is supposed to be meaningful but has become unoriginal or hackneyed through overuse.

Etymology

Borrowed from French platitude, from plat (“flat”).

Example Sentences

• "Beauty, I suppose, opens the heart, extends the consciousness. It is a platitude, of course."
• "Semiramis was the first woman to invent eunuchs and women have had sympathy for them ever since; […] and women can tell them what they can't tell other men. And Ivor, suddenly cheered by laughing at his absurd platitudes, and finding himself by the door, was going from the room."
• "For most of the past three decades, the natural world was treated almost as an afterthought by world leaders. If discussed at all, it was with platitudes about the need to save polar bears and tigers."