--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted…" description: "\"Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.\" — H. L. Mencken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png" --- # Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by… ![“Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png) > “Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.” [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A platitude is a universally accepted claim that is actually false. **In simple terms:** Widely accepted falsehoods. Key Takeaway Question accepted truths. Themes critical thinking truth social norms communication Mood skeptical inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - advertising slogans - social media trends - education curricula Key Concepts philosophy logic media studies Questions to Reflect On - What common belief might be a platitude? - How can you test its truth? A Different Perspective People may accept platitudes without scrutiny. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) ## Related quotes > [“This could be . . . a very bad idea," I admitted, my grip tightening on his hand. "Oh, it most certainly is," Cassian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/this-could-be-a-very-bad-idea-i-admitted-my-grip-tightening-on-his/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“It is superstition," she admitted. "But it might be true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/it-is-superstition-she-admitted-but-it-might-be-true/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“But that's not a very original idea, is it? It's really just a platitude ... sort of like a Florida sunset, Nevertheless, it happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-that-s-not-a-very-original-idea-is-it-it-s-really-just-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“ 'Better to have loved and lost,' my ass. Anyone parroting that little platitude had obviously never lost anyone of consequence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/better-to-have-loved-and-lost-my-ass-anyone-parroting-that-little/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Funny how people despise platitudes, when they are usually the truest thing going. A thing has to be pretty true before it gets to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/funny-how-people-despise-platitudes-when-they-are-usually-the-truest/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [In modern life nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-modern-life-nothing-produces-such-an-effect-as-a-good-platitude-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nothing-produces-such-an-effect-as-a-good-platitude/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“You mere device," he gnarled. "You platitude! Your Gollux ex machina!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/you-mere-device-he-gnarled-you-platitude-your-gollux-ex-machina/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“Because “Platitude” was a language everyone spoke”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-long/because-platitude-was-a-language-everyone-spoke/) [Julie Anne Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-long/) > [applause, n. The echo of a platitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/applause-n-the-echo-of-a-platitude/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“I’m going mad with the knowledge that despite the fact that this is now a platitude, we’re repeating ourselves. Are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-buckley/i-m-going-mad-with-the-knowledge-that-despite-the-fact-that-this-is/) [Ray Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-buckley/) > [It is strange how long we rebel against a platitude until suddenly in a different lingo it looms up again as the only verity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-strange-how-long-we-rebel-against-a-platitude-until-suddenly-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Unfortunately, a platitude is not a plan. So I am encouraging people to turn towards the Green Party if they're looking for a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/unfortunately-a-platitude-is-not-a-plan-so-i-am-encouraging-people-to/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [If your values don't alienate anyone, it is just platitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-kelman/if-your-values-don-t-alienate-anyone-it-is-just-platitude/) [Glenn Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-kelman/) ## More by H. L. Mencken > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Man's objection to love is that it dies hard; woman's, that when it is dead, it stays dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/man-s-objection-to-love-is-that-it-dies-hard-woman-s-that-when-it-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Women have simple tastes. They get pleasure out of the conversation of children in arms and men in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/women-have-simple-tastes-they-get-pleasure-out-of-the-conversation-of/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The critic, to interpret his artist, even to understand his artist, must be able to get into the mind of his artist; he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-critic-to-interpret-his-artist-even-to-understand-his-artist-must/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-the-natural-tendency-of-the-ignorant-to-believe-what-is-not/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) [Explore all 827 H. L. Mencken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More Idea quotes > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I had an idea for a technologically advanced luxury watch. I got involved in digital art and neon painting and put on shows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-moroder/i-had-an-idea-for-a-technologically-advanced-luxury-watch-i-got/) [Giorgio Moroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-moroder/) > [Everybody has a good idea, but nothing goes as planned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-winklevoss/everybody-has-a-good-idea-but-nothing-goes-as-planned/) [Tyler Winklevoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-winklevoss/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [The idea with a collection is sort of to begin with a kind of bang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/the-idea-with-a-collection-is-sort-of-to-begin-with-a-kind-of-bang/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [When there's a firestorm going on around you, you have very little idea of what's next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/when-there-s-a-firestorm-going-on-around-you-you-have-very-little/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [My mom had no idea she was having twins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-bella/my-mom-had-no-idea-she-was-having-twins/) [Brie Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-bella/) > [When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/when-i-was-12-years-old-i-went-to-natchitoches-la-it-was-summer/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) [Browse all 4,953 Idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. L. Mencken" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to-be-true-by-everyone-and-b/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idea" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to-be-true-by-everyone-and-b/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e59/h-l-mencken-245_idea_platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to_1368517.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.” — H. L. Mencken", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "H. L. Mencken", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Platitude: an idea (a) that is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to-be-true-by-everyone-and-b/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/platitude-an-idea-a-that-is-admitted-to-be-true-by-everyone-and-b/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```