Hoary - English meaning

adjective

So lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring.

Usage examples:

Songs with banal, repeated words

adjective

Too often used in the past and therefore not interesting

Usage examples:

He just sat there making banal remarks all evening.

adjective

Showing a lack of originality; based on frequently repeated phrases or opinions.

Usage examples:

He has a horror of clichéd images of african american life

adjective

Often said, used, or done, and therefore not original and not interesting

Usage examples:

He made some clichéd remark., it might sound clichéd, but knowing that you're doing something worth…

adjective

Occurring, found, or done often; prevalent.

Usage examples:

Salt and pepper are the two most common seasonings

noun

A piece of open land for public use.

Usage examples:

We spent the morning tramping over the common looking for flowers

adjective

Found frequently in many places or among many people

Usage examples:

Money worries are a common problem for people raising children., guilt and forgiveness are themes c…

adjective

Not unusual; ordinary.

Usage examples:

Unemployment was commonplace in his trade

noun

A usual or ordinary thing.

Usage examples:

Bombing has become almost a commonplace of public life there

adjective

Happening or seen frequently and so not considered special or unusual

Usage examples:

Public financing for sports stadiums has become commonplace.

adjective

Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.

Usage examples:

A conventional morality had dictated behaviour

adjective

Following the usual practices of the past

Usage examples:

We were raised in a conventional, middle-class family., it’s a conventional hot-water heater (= of …

adjective

Relating to accepted or traditional ways of doing something

Usage examples:

Conventional accounting/business practices/methods, it is estimated that over one-third of sub-prim…

adjective

(of the weather) very cold, with frost forming on surfaces.

Usage examples:

A cold and frosty morning

adjective

Unfriendly or not welcoming

Usage examples:

A frosty manner, we each had a root beer served in a frosty glass with a big handle.

adjective

Very cold, with a thin layer of white ice covering everything

Usage examples:

The frosty air stung my cheeks., it was a cold and frosty morning.

adjective

Of a colour intermediate between black and white, as of ashes or lead.

Usage examples:

Grey flannel trousers

noun

Grey colour or pigment.

Usage examples:

Dirty intermediate tones of grey

verb

(especially of hair) become grey with age.

Usage examples:

He had put on weight and greyed somewhat

adjective

(of a phrase or idea) having been overused; unoriginal and trite.

Usage examples:

Hackneyed old sayings

adjective

Used or said so often that it seems ordinary, meaningless, or not sincere

Usage examples:

A hackneyed plot

adjective

With no special or distinctive features; normal.

Usage examples:

He sets out to depict ordinary people

noun

What is commonplace or standard.

Usage examples:

Their clichés were vested with enough emotion to elevate them above the ordinary

adjective

Not different, special, or unexpected in any way; usual

Usage examples:

His music was of the sort that ordinary americans could relate to., computers are now widely availa…

adjective

(of food) overcooked.

Usage examples:

He sat there chewing his overdone steak

verb

Do, use, or carry to excess; exaggerate.

Usage examples:

She rather overdoes the early cockney scenes

adjective

(esp. of meat) cooked too long

Usage examples:

The steak was dry and overdone.

adjective

Used too much.

Usage examples:

I generally try to avoid overused expressions in my reviews

verb

Use (something) too much.

Usage examples:

The word ‘hero’ is overused these days

verb

Past simple and past participle of overuse

Usage examples:

I tend to overuse certain favourite expressions., an over-used tendon can become swollen and painful.

adjective

(of a person) having to work beyond their capacity or strength.

Usage examples:

Overworked nurses do not have time to adequately prepare patients for discharge

verb

Cause (someone) to work beyond their capacity or strength.

Usage examples:

Employers should be aware that overworking their employees comes at a cost

adjective

Having to work too much

Usage examples:

An overworked civil servant, i'm overworked and underpaid., the article was full of overworked expr…

adjective

(of a remark or statement) used too often to be interesting or thoughtful; hackneyed.

Usage examples:

This may sound platitudinous

adjective

Able to be predicted.

Usage examples:

The market is volatile and never predictable

adjective

Acting or happening in a way that is expected

Usage examples:

Comets usually appear at predictable times., she’s so predictable – she always wants to go to the s…

adjective

Happening as or when expected

Usage examples:

Bonds are attractive for investors seeking predictable returns on their investments., the supermark…

adjective

Covered with frost.

Usage examples:

But a certain bitter aura also hung about the flower; the last in bloom among sere grasses, fallen …

adjective

Covered in frost (= the thin, white layer of ice that forms when the air temperature is below the freezing point of water, especially outside at night)

Usage examples:

I love those last days of autumn with the rimy hedgerows and pale sunlight., the writer conjures up…

noun

A precious shiny greyish-white metal, the chemical element of atomic number 47.

Usage examples:

Beryllium, calcium, silver and antimony have no appreciable effect on mechanical properties.

adjective

Made of or coloured like silver.

Usage examples:

A silver necklace

verb

Short for silver medal.

Usage examples:

She won three silvers

adjective

Like silver in colour or appearance; shiny and grey-white.

Usage examples:

Shoals of silvery fish

adjective

Like silver

Usage examples:

The grass was silvery with frost., we were woken early by the peal of silvery bells.

adjective

(of food) no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry.

Usage examples:

Stale bread

verb

Make or become stale.

Usage examples:

She would cut up yesterday's leftover bread, staling now

verb

(of an animal, especially a horse) urinate.

Usage examples:

The horse staled while he was riding

adjective

Viewed or represented as a stereotype.

Usage examples:

The film is weakened by its stereotyped characters

verb

View or represent as a stereotype.

Usage examples:

The city is too easily stereotyped as an industrial wasteland

noun

The goods or merchandise kept on the premises of a shop or warehouse and available for sale or distribution.

Usage examples:

The store has a very low turnover of stock

adjective

(of a product or type of product) usually kept in stock and thus regularly available for sale.

Usage examples:

25 per cent off stock items

verb

Have or keep a supply of (a particular product or type or product) available for sale.

Usage examples:

Most supermarkets now stock a range of organic produce

adjective

(of cloth, clothing, or soft furnishings) becoming thin and tattered with age.

Usage examples:

Tatty rooms with threadbare carpets

adjective

(of material) looking worn and thin from much use

Usage examples:

Her clothes were faded and threadbare.

adjective

In need of sleep or rest; weary.

Usage examples:

Fisher rubbed his tired eyes

verb

Feel or cause to feel in need of rest or sleep.

Usage examples:

Soon the ascent grew steeper and he began to tire

adjective

(of a remark or idea) lacking originality or freshness; dull on account of overuse.

Usage examples:

This point may now seem obvious and trite

adjective

Done or expressed too often to be of any interest

Usage examples:

Even good acting couldn’t make up for the trite story.

adjective

Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland.

Usage examples:

Tuneful but vapid musical comedies

adjective

Showing no intelligence or imagination

Usage examples:

A vapid reality tv show, he's attractive, but vapid.

adjective

Of the colour of milk or fresh snow, due to the reflection of all visible rays of light; the opposite of black.

Usage examples:

A sheet of white paper

noun

White colour or pigment.

Usage examples:

Garnet-red flowers flecked with white

verb

A member of a light-skinned people, especially one of european extraction.