Banalities

/bəˈnælɪtiz/ noun

Definition

Plural of banality; things that are boring, unoriginal, or lacking interest because they've been said or done so many times before.

Etymology

From French banalité, derived from banal (meaning commonplace), which comes from Old French ban (common right or jurisdiction). The meaning shifted from 'ordinary' to 'dull and overused.'

Kelly Says

Every movie has the 'it wasn't your fault' conversation—that's a banality! Hannah Arendt famously wrote about 'the banality of evil' to describe how terrible things happen when ordinary people stop thinking critically.

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