platitude
(ˈplætɪtjuːd)
[a. F. platitude (Dict. Acad. 1694), f. plat plat a., on analogy of latitude, altitude, etc.: see -tude.]
1. Flatness, dullness, insipidity, commonplaceness (as a quality of speech or writing).
| 1812 Edin. Rev. XIX. 276 With all the brevity and platitude imaginable. 1818 Q. Rev. XIX. 120 Such abundance of platitude and inanity. a 1850 Rossetti Dante & Circ. i. (1874) 12 A repartee..which has all the profound platitude of mediæval wit. |
2. A flat, dull, or commonplace remark or statement; esp. one uttered or written with an air of importance or solemnity.
| 1815 Simond Tour Gt. Brit. I. 100 Every species of improbability and platitudes. 1833 S. Austin Charac. Goethe II. 212 note 36 A Philister..may, I think, be paraphrased a man of common places—a pompous dealer in identicalisms and platitudes. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. xlv. 191 It is one of those platitudes which are constantly forgotten or ignored. |