conventional wisdom
What everyone assumes
Conventional wisdom is what most people believe or assume to be true—the generally accepted view on a matter.
The phrase often carries skepticism, implying such beliefs may be wrong or oversimplified: Conventional wisdom says you should wait an hour after eating to swim, but there's no evidence for it.
To go against conventional wisdom is to challenge common assumptions.
- platitudeTrite, overused remark
- truismStatement needing no proof
- common knowledgeWidely shared information
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
- general consensusWidely held collective opinion
accepted truth · cliché · orthodoxy · commonplace · public opinion · stereotype · dogma · party line · misconception · maxims · societal expectations · taken for granted · precedent · tradition · shibboleth · paradigm shifts · counter-narratives · status quo
- folk wisdomproverb, folklore, folk sayings, saying, proverbs
- public opinionpublic opinion, public sentiment, polls, poll, approval
- sayingssayings, saying, proverb, proverbs, adage
- wisdomsagacity, sapience, discernment, insight, prudence
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, maxims, adages, aphorisms
- Assumptionsfalse assumption, stereotypes, generalizations, biases, prejudices
conventional wisdomoriginal thought
Idea without precedent
fresh perspective · innovative thinking · creative thinking · iconoclasm · lateral thinking
conventional wisdomheterodoxy
Unorthodox belief or opinion
heresy · fringe theory · dissenting opinion · minority view · outsider perspective
wisdom, convention, conventional, unconventional, conventionally, conventionalism, unconventionally, conventionalize, nonconventional