Synonyms

banal

American

[buh-nal, -nahl, beyn-l] / bəˈnæl, -ˈnɑl, ˈbeɪn l /

adjective

devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite.

a banal and sophomoric treatment of courage on the frontier.

banal British

/ bəˈnælɪtɪ, bəˈnɑːl /

adjective

lacking force or originality; trite; commonplace

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See commonplace.

Other Word Forms

banality noun
banally adverb

Etymology

Origin of banal

First recorded in 1745–55; from French, Old French: “pertaining to a ban”; equivalent to ban ² + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Golaszewski explains it's not intentional and he's showing that "the truth of grief is that it is banal".

From BBC

And it makes a seemingly banal title wryly funny: Ms. Andrade, a top competitive surfer, stands a little over 5 feet tall; the waves where she surfs at Nazaré, Portugal, can top 80 feet.

From The Wall Street Journal

The short video posts on platforms like TikTok show how even just the words "Tokyo, Japan" with a cherry blossom emoji can make an otherwise banal street scene more appealing for some users.

From Barron's

But it’s fun nonetheless to hear his busy breakbeats coursing through “Season 2 Weight Loss,” a tune whose words and melody are as banal as its title.

From The Wall Street Journal

This banal statement doesn’t mean much, considering all films — and art, really — are the spark of someone’s idea.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023