1
Core quality
Overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
Example
The advertisement relies on hackneyed images of success.
hackneyed
/ˈhæknid/ · HAK-needadjective
Overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
Use hackneyed to express this relationship precisely: overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
What hackneyed Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
A once-powerful phrase can become hackneyed through repetition.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The plot is familiar without feeling entirely hackneyed.
Use hackneyed Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The advertisement relies on hackneyed images of success.
A once-powerful phrase can become hackneyed through repetition.
The plot is familiar without feeling entirely hackneyed.
Precision Matters
Hackneyed overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
hackneyed
vs.Means overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
conventional
Means based on established practice, tradition, or general acceptance.
hackneyed
vs.Means overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
innovative
Means introducing or using new ideas, methods, or materials.
hackneyed
vs.Means overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
distinctive
Means having a characteristic that makes something recognisably different from others.
hackneyed
vs.Means overused so often that it has become stale, predictable, and unoriginal.
trite
Means overused and therefore lacking freshness, force, or originality.
Test hackneyed in Context
Repetition has made the slogan stale and unoriginal.
1
Reviewers dismissed the slogan as ___ because it repeated a cliché used in countless earlier campaigns.