Banal
Lacking originality or freshness; dull, commonplace, and overused.
adjectiveBanal
Lacking originality or freshness; dull, commonplace, and overused.
adjectiveImagine This
Imagine an NBC station manager banned Al’s television shows from prime-time TV because they were extremely boring.
Sounds Like
buh-NAL
Looks Like
ban + al (two parts: 'ban' and 'al')
Remember This
Banality is the noun form; etymologically related to being common or ordinary, not to prohibiting something.
Other Forms
Note
Use banal to describe things that feel dull due to cliché or overfamiliarity, not mere mediocrity. Distinguish from 'ban' in meaning; banal refers to dull sameness, not a direct act of banning.
Study Deeper
- The movie's plot was banal, with predictable twists and cliché dialogue.
- Her banal remarks at the conference dampened the energy in the room.
From French banal, meaning common or ordinary; ultimately from Medieval Latin bannus (service, obligation) in feudal contexts, reflecting the sense of things that are common or ordinary.
Ban all originality: banal reminds you of things that ban all freshness.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Prosaic
adjectiveLacking in imagination or creativity; dull and ordinary in style, especially in writing that resembles prose rather than poetry.
Mundane
adjectiveOrdinary, commonplace, and unremarkable; worldly rather than spiritual.
Abstruse
adjectiveDifficult to understand; obscure or highly complex.
Accidental
adjectiveHappening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.
Acerbic
adjectiveSharp or biting in tone or taste; caustic or mordant in manner.
Acquiescent
adjectiveReady to agree or approve without protest; compliant.