US /ˈhækniyd/ UK /ˈhæknid/
adj

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    made trite and unoriginal through overuse

    Her speech was full of hackneyed phrases that no one really heard anymore.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · made trite and unoriginal... triteclichedbanalstaleoverusedcommonplacethreadbareplatitudinous
Word family
Related forms hackney

Etymology

From hackney ('a horse for hire', hence 'worn out by overuse'), probably from the place name Hackney in London, where horses were pastured; the adjective means 'made commonplace through overuse'.

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Topics

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