trite
/tɹaɪt/adjective, noun
trite is spelled T-R-I-T-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, trite means “used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in trite?
| Letters | 5: T-R-I-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is trite?
Trite appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce trite?
- UK /tɹaɪt/
- US /tɹaɪt/
- US [tɹʌɪt]
Trite has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-trite.ogg, En-au-trite.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with trite
Sounds like: tryte (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with trite?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as trite from its last stressed vowel (/aɪt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: titer, titre.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of trite
- triter comparative
- tritest superlative
- trites plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trite mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed.
- 2
So well established as to be beyond debate: trite law.
It is trite to say that the mere fact that a decision does not favour the applicant or that the applicant disagrees with the decision does not establish that the decision is tainted with bias.
noun
- 1
A denomination of coinage in ancient Greece equivalent to one third of a stater.
- 2
In Ancient Greek musical theory, the lower-pitched of the two movable notes in the farther tetrachord on a lyre, pitched lower than the paranete and higher than the paramese.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trite in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | banal, éculé, trivial |
| German | abgedroschen, banal, nichtssagend, platt |
| Portuguese | banal, gasto |
| Spanish | manido, tópico, trillado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does trite come from?
From Latin trītus (“worn out”), perfect passive participle of terō (“to wear away, wear out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).