banal

UK /bəˈnɑːl/ US /bəˈnæl/ Syllables: ba-nal

Pronunciation

Adjective C2 Mastery Formal

So ordinary and overused that it has become boring or meaningless.

Banal describes something so ordinary and so often repeated that it has no interest or force left. A banal comment is one everyone has heard before, a banal plot follows a pattern you can guess, and a banal conversation about the weather leads nowhere. The word is usually critical, and it suggests a lack of originality, not a lack of correctness.

"The film's dialogue felt banal, full of lines you'd heard in a hundred other movies."

Meanings

So ordinary and unoriginal that it is boring.
Found everywhere, with no interest left.

Example sentences

"The film was full of banal jokes."

Level C2, Meaning 1
"He gave a banal answer that said nothing new."

Level C2, Meaning 1
"Their small talk was banal."

Level C2, Meaning 1
"She turned a banal day into a funny story."

Level C2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms

cliched trite

Antonyms

original

Look-alikes and common mistakes

trivial : Trivial means small and unimportant. Banal means so common and expected that it has become dull.

Word family and forms

banality banally banalize

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "banal".

a banal remark
banal and boring
banal details
a banal plot
banal conversation
completely banal

Origin

Banal was borrowed from French. In medieval France banal described things that belonged to a feudal lord and were used by all his tenants, such as the oven or the mill, and so it came to mean common to everyone. Over time the sense shifted to commonplace.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Say it like "ba-NAL" and think "bland and normal": a banal remark is bland and normal.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "The film was full of _____ jokes."

Answer: banal

In your own words, what does "banal" mean?