Since children are more scared than amused by clowns, I wonder if some comedy trope of ours will become horror fodder in 100 years.
Source: tatoeba (704562)
Trope
/tɹəʊp/
Synonyms for "trope" (45 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (9)
Noun(9 words)
Strong matches (14)
Noun(9 words)
cornballcuckoldingendlessnessfairy tale motiffate boundfigurefigure in chartfolklore motifsgunfights
Adjective(1 words)
french cliché
Related words (22)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: figure of speech, busybodied, caliban, cantillation, celestially serene.
- Sentence evidence is available for trope, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, wiktionary, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "trope".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "trope"
Keep "trope" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "trope" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "trope", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "trope" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
8 translations across 7 languages.
Dutch
1 entries- troop noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Finnish
1 entries- trooppi noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Greek
1 entries- τρόπος noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Italian
1 entries- tropo noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Polish
1 entries- trop noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- trȏp noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
- тро̑п noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Spanish
1 entries- tropo noun (music, Roman Catholicism: phrase or verse added to the Mass)
Sample sentences
26 total sentences available.
Airships are a common trope in steampunk works.
Source: tatoeba (6168058)
You have to give director Colm McCarthy, a Scottish TV veteran making his feature film debut, and writer Mike Carey, adapting his own novel, credit for attempting the seemingly impossible task of doing something new with the zombie subgenre. And by blending it with the common YA [young adult] trope of a young female protagonist who leads the world into a new revolutionary era, they almost get there—largely thanks to newcomer [Sennia] Nanua, who presents her character's grappling with complex themes of identity and original sin with a childlike guilelessness.
Source: wiktionary
They have completely supported the Russians diplomatically, they’ve abstained in key votes at the United Nations, they’ve absolutely cynically repeated all the Russian tropes, particularly in places like Africa and Latin America – [by]^([sic]) blaming Nato and all of this stuff.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 26 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "trope"?
Closest matches include figure of speech, busybodied, caliban, cantillation, celestially serene.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "trope"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.