A platitude is a trite, banal, or hackneyed statement; a cliché.
People use platitudes because it is easy and it makes them sound like they know what they’re talking about. It is a nice way of avoiding difficult conversation.
A cliché is an overused phrase or expression that has lost its originality and impact. Clichés are often expressed in a formulaic manner, and because of this, they can be recognized instantly to anyone fluent in the language.
The word cliché comes from the French word clicher, which means “stereotype.”
The following is a list of platitudes (clichés) that you should avoid using in conversation if you’re trying to say something substantive instead.
List of examples of platitudes
1. “Actions speak louder than words.”
2. “Early bird gets the worm.”
3. “Honesty is the best policy.”
4. “I’m just keeping it real.”
5. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
6. “That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
7. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
8. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
9. “Easy come, easy go.”
10. “Everything happens for a reason.”
11. “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
12. “Great minds think alike.”
13. “I’m not a morning person.”
14. “I’m just being honest.”
15. “It is what it is.”
16. “Kill two birds with one stone.”
17. “Let sleeping dogs lie.”
18. “Life is a highway.”
19. “Live and learn.”
20. “Look before you leap.”
21. “Make hay while the sun shines.”
22. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
23. “No pain, no gain.”
24. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
25. “Opposites attract.”
26. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
27. “Practice makes perfect.”
28. “Prevention is better than cure.”
29. “Procrastination is the thief of time.”
30. “The early bird catches the worm.”
31. “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
32. “There’s no place like home.”
33. “Time heals all wounds.”
34. “Two heads are better than one.”
35. “Variety is the spice of life.”
36. “What goes around comes around.”
37. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
38. “Waste not, want not.”
39. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
40. “You can’t please everyone.”
41. “You can’t take it with you.”
42. “You only live once.”
43. “A stitch in time saves nine.”
44. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
45. “Bad news travels fast.”
46. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
47. “Blood is thicker than water.”
48. “Boys will be boys.”
49. “Curiosity killed the cat.”
50. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
51. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
52. “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”
53. “Easy come, easy go.”
54. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
55. “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
56. “Good things come to those who wait.”
57. “Haste makes waste.”
58. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
59. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
60. “Ignorance is bliss.”
61. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”
62. “It’s no use crying over spilt milk.”
63. “Kill two birds with one stone.”
64. “Least said, soonest mended.”
65. “Look before you leap.”
66. “Make hay while the sun shines.”
67. “Misery loves company.”
68. “More haste, less speed.”
69. “My way or the highway.”
70. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
71. “No man is an island.”
72. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
73. “One good turn deserves another.”
74. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
75. “One step at a time.”
76. “Only time will tell.”
77. Penny wise, pound foolish.
78. “Practice makes perfect.”
79. “Procrastination is the thief of time.”
80. “Slow but steady wins the race.”
81. “The best things in life are free.”
82. “The customer is always right.”
83. “The early bird catches the worm.”
84. “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
85. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
86. “There are other fish in the sea.”
87. “There is no place like home.”
88. “Time heals all wounds.”
89. “Two heads are better than one.”
90. Unity is strength.
91. “Variety is the spice of life.”
92. “Wealth is not everything.”
93. “When in doubt, leave it out.”
94. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
95. Wisdom comes with age.
96. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
97. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.”
98. “You can’t please everyone.”
99. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
100. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
101. “A leopard cannot change its spots.”
102. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
103. “A watched pot never boils.”
104. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
105. “Better late than never.”
106. “Birds of a feather flock together.”
107. “Blood is thicker than water.”
108. “Charity begins at home.”
109. “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
110. “Clothes make the man (or woman).”
111. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
112. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
113. “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”
114. “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
115. “East, west, home’s best.”
116. “Easier said than done.”
117. “Fight fire with fire.”
118. “God helps those who help themselves.”
119. “Half a loaf is better than none.”
120. “Haste makes waste.”
Platitudes & Old Cliches
More dumb clichés
1. “We will do our due dilligence.”
2. “Sometimes we trip over our own feet.”
3. “I’m not a quitter.”
4. “This is a no brainer.”
5. “You’re preaching to the choir.”
6. “We need to boil this down to its essence.”
7. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
8. “I’m thinking outside the box.”
9. “We need to circle back around on that.”
10. “Let’s touch base offline.”
11. “Pick your battles.”
12. “I’m at wit’s end.”
13. “It is what it is.”
14. “This isn’t rocket science – It really isn’t that difficult!”
15. “I’m a fighter.”
16. “Let’s get it.”
17. “That’s savage.”
18. “You play until the final whistle.”
19. “Just win.”
20. “Leave it all out on the field.”
21. “Take it one game at a time.”
22. “We’re taking it one day at a time.”
23. “Back to the drawing board.”
24. “It is what it is.”
25. “Time will tell.”
26. “The proof is in the pudding.”
27. “Actions speak louder than words.”
28. “Easy come, easy go.”
29. “I’m not worried about that.”
30. “Everything happens for a reason.”
31. “. . . that’s life” or “. . . such is life”
32. “When it rains, it pours.”
33. “Add insult to injury.”
34. “All’s fair in love and war.”
35. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
36. “Bad news comes in threes.”
37. “Beauty is only skin-deep.”
38. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
39. “Better late than never.”
Clichés to refer to people who use clichés
1. “Empty cans make the most noise.”
2. “The hot takes are scorching.”
3. “Big hat and no cattle.”
4. “The blind leading the blind.”
5. “Penny wise and pound foolish.”
6. “A broken clock is right twice a day.”
7. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
8. “Haste makes waste.”
9. “Ignorance is bliss.”
10. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”
11. “Kill two birds with one stone.”
12. “Leap before you look.”
The most annoying platitudes
1. “Time is money.”
2. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
3. “You get what you pay for.”
4. “No pain, no gain.”
5. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
6. “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
7. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
8. “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
9. “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
10. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
11. “Knowledge is power.”
12. “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
13. “Easy come, easy go.”
14. “Time heals all wounds.”
15. “What goes around comes around.”
16. “Live and learn.”
17. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
18. “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.”
19. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
20. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
21. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
22. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
23. “Life is too short to drink bad wine/coffee/beer.”
24. “No time like the present!”
25. “YOLO!”
26. “carpe diem!”
27. “seize the day!”
28. “live in the moment!”
29. “stop and smell the roses!”
30. “make hay while the sun shines!”
31. “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
32. “A stitch in time saves nine.”
33. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
34. “Better safe than sorry.”
35. “Look before you leap.”
36. “Measure twice, cut once.”
Cringy platitudes
1. “Love conquers all.”
2. “All you need is love.”
3. “Love makes the world go round.”
4. “When it’s meant to be, it will be.”
5. “Everything happens for a reason.”
6. “God has a plan for everything.”
7. “There’s someone for everyone.”
8. ” soulmate.”
9. “You’ll find love when you’re not looking for it.”
10. “Love at first sight.”
11. “Love is blind.”
12. Love is patient, love is kind.
13. “$%&* happens.”
14. “Sh*t happens.”
15. “C’est la vie.”
Platitudes and Clichés that are annoying
1. “Good things come to those who wait.”
2. “Patience is a virtue.”
3. “God helps those who help themselves.”
4. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
5. “You get what you pay for.”
6. “No pain, no gain.”
7. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
8. “There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”
9. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
10. “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
11. “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
12. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
13. “Knowledge is power.”
14. “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
15. “Easy come, easy go.”
16. “Time heals all wounds.”
17. “What goes around comes around.”
18. “Live and learn.”
19. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
20. “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.”
21. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
22. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
23. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
24. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
25. Life is too short to drink bad coffee.
Synonyms for Platitude
1. Clichê
2. Bromide
3. Echoing
4. Hackneyed expression
5. Stereotype
6. Shopworn phrase
7. Overused saying
8. Trite remark
9. Timeworn aphorism
10. Boring repetition
11. Unoriginality
12. Lack of imagination
13. unimaginativeness
14. unoriginality
15. dullness
16. uninspiredness
17. derivative nature
18. lack of freshness
19. staleness
20. triteness
21. overfamiliarity
22. clichédness
23. flatness
24. insipidity
25. vapidity
26. emptiness
27. inanity
28. pointlessness
29. foolishness
30. silliness
31. fatuousness
32. absurdity
33. asininity
34. imbecility
35. trivia
36. banality
37. commonplace-ness
38. mundaneness
39. ordinariness
40. pedestrianism
41. generalization
42. Captain Obvious
43. nothing substantive
44. vapid
45. superficial
46. non-specific
47. lacking in detail
48. lacking precision
49. ambiguous
50. unenlightening
51. uninformative
52. non-committal
53. non-controversial
54. safe
55. anodyne
56. bland
57. characterless
58. colorless
59. dull
60. flat
61. humdrum
62. insipid
63. mundane
64. off the point
65. pedestrian
66. “Run of the mill”
67. “Been there, done that”
68. “The same old story”
69. “A broken record”
70. “Saying the obvious”
71. “Stating the obvious”
72. “Telling them what they already know”
73. “Preaching to the converted”
74. overused
75. shopworn
76. timeworn
77. banal
78. corny
79. dreary
80. flat
81. hackneyed
82. naff
83. jaded
84. musty
85. vague, filler commentary
FAQs – Examples of Platitudes (List of Cliches)(Trite, Banal Sayings)
Why do people use clichés?
Oftentimes, they have nothing substantive to say, so they cover up their ignorance with trite statements that they think sound profound.
Clichés are easy to remember and repeat, and they can be used in any situation without having to put any real thought into them.
What is the difference between a platitude and a cliché?
A platitude is a statement that is so overused that it has lost its original meaning or impact. A cliché is an expression that has been used so often that it has become trite or unoriginal.
What is the origin of the phrase “the same old story”?
The phrase “the same old story” is derived from a Biblical parable about a man who went out into the field to sow seed.
The seed fell on different types of ground, and the results were different depending on the type of ground. The phrase is used to describe situations where the outcome is predictable because it has happened many times before.
What is the difference between a platitude and an aphorism?
An aphorism is a short, memorable statement that conveys a moral truth or principle.
A platitude is a trite or banal statement that is so overused that it has lost its original meaning or impact.
Both are easy to remember and repeat, but aphorisms are usually more meaningful than platitudes.
Conclusion – Examples of Platitudes (List of Cliches)(Trite, Banal Sayings)
Platitudes are overused, trite, and banal statements that have lost their original meaning or impact.
They are often used by people who have nothing to add, as they are easy to remember and repeat without having to put any real thought into them.
If you want to avoid sounding like a broken record, try to avoid using clichés and platitudes in your speech and writing.
Instead, opt for fresh, original language that will make your reader sit up and take notice.
