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banal

/bəˈnæl/adjective

So ordinary and unoriginal that it feels dull and easy to predict.

Example sentences

  • “The film's plot was banal, and I guessed the ending within ten minutes.”
  • “Her graduation speech was full of banal advice like 'follow your dreams.'”

Pronunciation is famously unsettled: buh-NAL, buh-NAHL, and BAY-nul are all in respectable use.

Featured as word of the day on February 21, 2026.

Synonyms for banal

Antonyms

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