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Trope vs Cliche - What's the difference?

trope | cliche |

As nouns the difference between trope and cliche

is that trope is something recurring across a genre or type of literature, such as the ‘mad scientist’ of horror movies or ‘once upon a time’ as an introduction to fairy tales. Similar to archetype and cliché but not necessarily pejorative while cliché is something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude.

As a verb trope

is to use, or embellish something with a trope.

trope

English

Noun

(wikipedia trope) (en noun)
  • (literature) Something recurring across a genre or type of literature, such as the ‘mad scientist’ of horror movies or ‘once upon a time’ as an introduction to fairy tales. Similar to archetype and but not necessarily pejorative.
  • A figure of speech in which words or phrases are used with a nonliteral or figurative meaning, such as a metaphor.
  • (music) A short cadence at the end of the melody in some early music.
  • (music) A phrase or verse added to the mass when sung by a choir.
  • (music) A pair of complementary hexachords in twelve-tone technique.
  • (Judaism) A cantillation pattern, or the mark that represents it.
  • Derived terms

    * troper * tropist * tropical * tropology

    Verb

    (trop)
  • To use, or embellish something with a trope.
  • (often, literature) To turn into, coin or create a new trope.
  • (often, literature) To analyze a work in terms of its literary tropes.
  • To think or write in terms of tropes.
  • Synonyms

    * tropify

    References

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    cliche

    English

    Alternative forms

    * cliche

    Noun

    (wikipedia cliché) (en noun)
  • Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude.
  • The villain kidnapping the love interest in a film is a bit of a cliché .
  • (printing) A stereotype (printing plate).
  • Usage notes

    * The alternative spelling .)

    Synonyms

    * platitude * stereotype * See also

    Derived terms

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----