well-trodden
Beaten by feet
Well-trodden describes a path or route that has been walked on many times, worn smooth or bare by repeated foot traffic: a well-trodden trail through the woods.
Figuratively, it refers to approaches, arguments, or territory so familiar they've become conventional or unoriginal: well-trodden ground, a well-trodden career path.
The implication is safety through precedent—others have gone this way before.
Known from experience
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
- clichédOverused to meaninglessness
- overusedEmployed too frequently
- predictableAble to be foreseen
hackneyed · common · routine · unoriginal · formulaic · tried · tested · established
familiar
Known from experience
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
- clichédOverused to meaninglessness
- overusedEmployed too frequently
predictable · hackneyed · common · routine · unoriginal · formulaic · tried · tested · established · traditional
beaten
Having lost a contest
walkway · track · route · pathway · traveled · familiar · trampled · dusty · dirt · cobbled
well-troddenuncharted
Not yet documented
unexplored · novel · original · unconventional · innovative
well-troddenuntrodden
Never stepped upon
untraveled · unfrequented · little-used · neglected · abandoned
well, trod, trodden, treads, treading, untrodden, retread, retreads, retreading