hackneyed

hack·neyed
H4A1C3K5N1E1Y4E1D2
/ˈhæk.nid/[ˈhæknɪi̯d]

adjective

Of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often.

“The sermon was full of hackneyed phrases and platitudes.”

Similar
banalcommonplaceclichédhackneyshopwornstockthreadbaretimeworn
Opposite
freshoriginalunhackneyednew
OriginEnglish hackney ← Middle English hakeney →
UncommonScrabble 22
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Meanings

adjectivehackneyed (comparative more hackneyed, superlative most hackneyed)

comparative more hackneyed · superlative most hackneyed · alternative obsolete hacknied

  1. Of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often.

    The sermon was full of hackneyed phrases and platitudes.

    2 more examples

    It was a great success, that Irish stew. I don’t think I ever enjoyed a meal more. There was something so fresh and piquant about it. One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things: here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste like nothing else on earth.

    1889, Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat […]

    Throughout the novel Ms. Allende uses Eliza and Tao's adventures as an excuse for hackneyed historical observations about the gold rush madness of the 1850's -- much the way she used her hero's peregrinations in "The Infinite Plan" (1993) as an excuse for cliched remarks on the 1960's.

    1999 November 2, Michiko Kakutani, “Books of The Times: A Single Girl Takes On the California Frontier”, in The New York Times (E section), New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7

    Synonyms: banal, commonplace, clichéd, hackney, shopworn, stock, threadbare, timeworn · Antonyms: fresh, original, unhackneyed

  2. datedLet out for hire.
verb

alternative obsolete hacknied

  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of hackney

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often.

Similar
banalcommonplaceclichédhackneyshopwornstockthreadbaretimeworntiredtritewell-worn
Opposite
freshoriginalunhackneyed
Similar
batheticbromidiccheesycornydog-earedhoaryoverdoneoverusedoverworkedpatplayed outstalewarmed-over
Opposite
new
Broader
commonrepeatedrepetitive

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiverepeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Similar
banalcommonplaceold-hatshopwornstockthreadbaretimeworntiredtritewell-wornunoriginal
Also see
banalbatheticbeatenbromidicclichédcommonplaceconventionalcornyhackneyoverdoneoverusedoverworkedpatplayed outshopwornstalestockthreadbaretimeworntiredtriteunoriginalwarmed-overwell-worn

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishhakeney
  2. Englishhackney
  3. Englishhackneyed

From hackney + -ed. Most likely from the fact that hackney carriages have been used so much, that they are extremely commonplace now.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian изтъркан, банален
  • изтъркан (iztărkan)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • банален (banalen)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • шаблонен (šablonen)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Chinese Mandarin 陳腐的 /陈腐的, 老生常談的 /老生常谈的
  • 陳腐的 /陈腐的 (chénfǔ de)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • 老生常談的 /老生常谈的 (lǎoshēngchángtán de)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Czech otřepaný, ohraný
  • otřepanýof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • ohranýof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • otřelýof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Danish fortærsket, klichéagtig
  • fortærsketof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • klichéagtigof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • forslidtof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Dutch afgezaagd, banaal
  • afgezaagdof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • banaalof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Finnish kulunut, kliseinen
  • kulunutof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • kliseinenof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
French rebattu, éculé
  • rebattuof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • éculéof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
German abgedroschen, abgenutzt
  • abgedroschenof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • abgenutztof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • banalof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • ausgelutschtof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • abgegriffenof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Greek τετριμμένος, κοινότοπος
  • τετριμμένος (tetrimménos)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • κοινότοπος (koinótopos)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Hebrew נדוש, חבוט
  • נדוש (nadósh)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • חבוט (khavút)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Hungarian elcsépelt
  • elcsépeltof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Japanese 陳腐な, 常套の
  • 陳腐な (chimpu na)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • 常套の (jōtō)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Polish banalny, oklepany
  • banalnyof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • oklepanyof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • pospolityof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Portuguese banal, batido
  • banalof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • batidoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • corriqueiroof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • trivialof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Russian изби́тый, зата́сканный
  • изби́тый (izbítyj)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • зата́сканный (zatáskannyj)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • бана́льный (banálʹnyj)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • шабло́нный (šablónnyj)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • зае́зженный (zajézžennyj)of speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Spanish gastado, trillado
  • gastadoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • trilladoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • manidoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • manoseadoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • sobadoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • traído y llevadoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • tópicoof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Swedish sliten, banal
  • slitenof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • banalof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
  • utnöttof speech or writing, a phrase, etc.: uninteresting and unoriginal from being repeated too often
Cite this entry
APA

hackneyed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hackneyed

MLA

“hackneyed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hackneyed. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hackneyed,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hackneyed.

Source: hackneyed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.