1. commonly used themes, devices, or motifs in literature, film, or other creative works
Usage: literary criticism; media analysis
2. figures of speech that use words in non-literal ways
Usage: rhetoric; literary

Examples

• The movie relies heavily on familiar horror tropes like creaking doors and sudden jump scares.
• Romance novels often feature common tropes such as enemies-to-lovers storylines.
• The author subverted typical fantasy tropes by making the villain sympathetic.
• Students learned to identify various tropes in poetry, including metaphor and simile.
• The comedy show parodies popular TV tropes from sitcoms of the 1990s.
• Literary critics analyze how writers use traditional tropes in new ways.