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Showing results for proverbial. Search instead for proverbialism.
Definitions

proverbial

[pruh-vur-bee-uhl] / prəˈvɜr bi əl /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On a typical sportsbook, bettors are up against the proverbial “house,” which sets the odds, whereas prediction markets pit traders against one another.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

You want to avoid inflation eating into that fund while it waits for that proverbial rainy day.

From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026

For just as long, that message largely failed to resonate, as millions of Chinese people looked across the Pacific and saw a proverbial “shining city upon a hill.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

As a result, the crisis "has thrown a proverbial wrench into the inner workings of the aviation fuel markets", the IEA said.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

I had thought of all these possibilities and more, but never that of Rosa’s death, despite my proverbial pessimism, which always leads me to expect the worst.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende




Vocabulary lists containing proverbial


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