Trope Meaning
/tɹəʊp/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomething recurring across a genre or type of art or literature; a motif.
nounAn addition (of dialogue, song, music, etc.) to a standard element of the liturgy, serving as an embellishment.
Sentence Examples
Airships are a common trope in steampunk works.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The 'damsel in distress' is an overused ____ in fairy tales from ancient times.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The detective story used a common ____ where the least suspicious character eventually turns out to be the real culprit today.
Word Origin & History
From Latin tropus, from Ancient Greek τρόπος (trópos, “a manner, style, turn, way; a trope or figure of speech; a mode in music; a mode or mood in logic”), related to τροπή (tropḗ, “solstice; trope; turn”) and τρέπειν (trépein, “to turn”); compare turn of phrase. The verb is derived from the noun.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The A.V. Club:
"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."
— 2023 July 20, Helen Davidson, quoting Richard Moore, “China complicit in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says MI6 chief”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"Contrary to the familiar trope that regulation kills innovation, Harding argues that in fact the political, moral and legal clarity provided by the Warnock commission spurred investment and economic growth."
— 2024 May 11, John Thornhill, “More than human?”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 8:
"She ended up watching her first vertical drama, You Belong With Me, about a jilted woman who gets together with her ex’s uncle. “It’s full of classic tropes, but at the heart of it is a gorgeous love story with some genuinely funny moments,” she said."
— 2025 April 4, Nadia Khomami, “Clickbait titles and cliffhangers: the mini TV serials capturing phone audiences”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"Usually known as 'tropes,' these interpolations consisted at first of but a few words; those of the Introit at the beginning of Mass on great festivals, however, often took the form of dialogues."
— 1918, Paul Studer, Le mystère d'Adam, an Anglo-Norman drama of the twelfth century:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The 'damsel in distress' is an overused ____ in fairy tales from ancient times.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The detective story used a common ____ where the least suspicious character eventually turns out to be the real culprit today.