cliché

== English == === Alternative forms === cliche === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from French cliché. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkliː.ʃeɪ/ (General American) IPA(key): /kliˈʃeɪ/ Rhymes: -iːʃeɪ, -eɪ Hyphenation: cli‧ché === Noun === cliché (plural clichés) (rhetoric) 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. [from 19th c.] Synonyms: convention, platitude, stereotype, trope; see also Thesaurus:saying (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 ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === cliché (comparative more cliché, superlative most cliché) (sometimes 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) (ambitransitive) To use a cliché; to make up a word or a name that sounds like a cliché. === Anagrams === chicle == 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 ==== clichématig ==== Descendants ==== Afrikaans: cliché → Indonesian: klise == 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 === IPA(key): /kli.ʃe/ === Noun === cliché m (plural clichés) (printing) stereotype (printing plate) (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 === “cliché”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Italian == === Alternative forms === cliscè === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from French cliché. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kliʃˈʃɛ/**, /kliʃˈʃe/** Rhymes: -ɛ, -e === Noun === cliché m (invariable) plate (printing) cliché === References === === Anagrams === lecchi == 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[2] (in Polish) == Portuguese == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from French cliché. === Pronunciation === === Noun === cliché m (plural clichés) unadapted form of clichê === Further reading === “cliché”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “cliché”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Alternative forms === clisé === Etymology === Borrowed from French cliché. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kliˈt͡ʃe/ [kliˈt͡ʃe] IPA(key): /kliˈse/ [kliˈse] IPA(key): /kliˈʃe/ [kliˈʃe] (rare) Rhymes: -e Syllabification: cli‧ché === Noun === cliché m (plural clichés) (rhetoric) cliché Synonym: tópico (printing) cliché ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “cliché”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “cliché”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA === Anagrams === chicle