as in cliché
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
the play's dialogue featured all of the groaners that seem to be de rigueur for any dysfunctional-family drama
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Recent Examples of groaner
Those pacing blips aren’t the only groaners.
—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—
Andy Hoglund,
EW.com,
15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—
Wesley Lowery,
Washington Post,
1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—
Max Norman,
The New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—
Elana Scherr,
Car and Driver,
30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—
Jeff McDonald,
San Antonio Express-News,
13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—
Dawn Burkes,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Dec. 2021
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
Che laughs about four groaners in a row, looking around sheepishly.
—
Andy Hoglund,
EW.com,
15 Dec. 2024
The only possible groaner, a joke about school shootings, clearly worked with the improv audience but, Wood reasoned, needed to come later in Saturday’s set, once the audience had grown to trust him a bit.
—
Wesley Lowery,
Washington Post,
1 May 2023
Evidently the authors — and the director, Jack O’Brien — meant to glue the show together with groaners, a gutsy if not entirely successful move.
—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2023
The pointillistic eclecticism of @NYT_first_said does tend to highlight the linguistic extremes—the novelties and the gags and the groaners.
—
Max Norman,
The New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2023
There's already been some on-track action, but the first big groaner for the GTP class happens to BMW, when the No. 25 car comes to a halt on the track, sort of half in, half out of the exit.
—
Elana Scherr,
Car and Driver,
30 Jan. 2023
White’s favorite joke is an all-time groaner.
—
Jeff McDonald,
San Antonio Express-News,
13 Dec. 2021
The premise for this TV One comedy is a groaner: A woman who followed in the footsteps of her mother and had a child at 16 will go to silly lengths to keep her 16-year-old daughter from doing the same.
—
Dawn Burkes,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groaner
Noun
-
While the crime plot is an obvious highlight, I was stunned by Tilly and Gershon’s incredible chemistry and the rejection of stereotypical noir tropes.
-
This cannot happen if lazy tropes around risk and governance continue to overshadow the ingenuity already present on the continent.
Noun
-
This is certainly true—and a rather banal truism.
-
Rick Jackson is testing that truism in his campaign for Georgia governor.
Noun
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There’s passable yet indistinguishable music in this exact style dropping every day, but the difference with Chicago’s Fatso is that his lyrics feel like scraps of conversations that communicate his hurt without leaning on platitudes.
-
Victor Lindelof’s pre-match comments smacked of bombast and confidence, the sort of words which are said but not meant, platitudes used to motivate rather than to be sworn under oath.
Noun
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Wolff was only the eighth woman to drive a Formula 1 car (four more have done it since); the role, a now-commonplace one that includes driving the simulator during Grand Prix weekends to inform trackside strategy, was created for her.
-
The videos are often integrated into larger montages of drone strikes, underscoring how commonplace these drones have become for Russian forces.
Noun
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Like the saying goes, hurt relieves hurt.
-
Many families have their own remedies for treating these pesky bites—but as the old saying goes, prevention is better than the cure.
Noun
-
Communion does him no favors, though, mostly in its sheer banality.
-
Here, Laura, a magazine writer in London, drifts through old friendships, failed romances, and the gothic banalities of family life.
Cite this Entry
“Groaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groaner. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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