shopworn

adjective

ˈshäp-ˌwȯrn How to pronounce shopworn (audio)
Definition of shopwornnext
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull the shopworn suggestion to job applicants to "just be yourself"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shopworn So much of his work seems dull, shopworn, generic. — James Marcus, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020 Carson said — 50 times Carson’s office, on a quiet street in downtown Modesto, was gritty and shopworn and functional in feel. — Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2021 If your listing has become shopworn, look at reducing the price or offering incentives. — John Nugent, Houston Chronicle, 4 July 2020 See All Example Sentences for shopworn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shopworn
  1. stereotyped
  2. tired
  3. hackneyed
Adjective
  • At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.
    — Lucy Ford, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025
Definition of stereotyped
Adjective
  • Selections from the trio’s synth-heavy mid-Eighties years sound sturdier than ever within the grand sweep of Rush 50, defying the tired rock-purist take that the trio strayed too far during this period.
    — Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of tired
Adjective
  • The movie’s a little more hackneyed and obvious now, but its central idea is still an undeniably creepy one: possessed children with pitchforks.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Which is a nauseatingly hackneyed and clichéd — not to mention stupefyingly reductive — type of statement to make about any kind of art or entertainment, of course.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of hackneyed

Browse Nearby Words

shoptalk
shopworn
shore
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Cite this Entry

“Shopworn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shopworn. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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