Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Platitude"

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A: A stupid or shallow phrase that is used over and over again. E.g., "Just be yourself", "When you smile, the world smiles back", "It is what it is".

A: A platitude is something said insincerely to calm or comfort someone. It sounds nice but really it is meaningless. A cliche is something that has been used too much in art and culture, so it no longer has the emotional power it once had.

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It is a little bit difficult to describe – the best explanation I ever heard of what a platitude is -

A completely boring, cliched and commonplace remark, being repeated as if it was something new and exciting.

The word itself is related to the word – plateau – meaning perfectly flat, which gives you an idea of the meaning. It’s an idea or a comment which you have heard 100 times before in your life, but the person saying it seems to think that it’s a brand-new idea and contains exciting and crucial new information. Because they are excited about their new discovery, they won’t shut up about it. It is this which makes the platitude especially cringeworthy and boring.

I hope that helps