Also means
trite, commonplace
Usage Note
Banal is a one-way false friend: English borrowed it from French, but the French sense is more neutral — simply 'ordinary, unremarkable' — while English 'banal' is more pejorative. The feminine is banale, and the common plural is banals (the alternative banaux survives only in feudal/legal terms like moulins banaux). The derived noun banalité means a cliché or platitude.
Examples
"C'est une histoire assez banale."
Natural Translation
It is quite an ordinary story.
Related Words
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