Trait vs. Trite: What's the Difference?

Trait and Trite Definitions
Trait
A distinguishing feature, as of a person's character.
Trite
Not evoking interest because of overuse or repetition; hackneyed.
Trait
A morphological, physiological, or behavioral feature of an organism.
Trite
Often in reference to a word or phrase: used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed.
Trait
(Archaic) A short line or mark made with a writing or drawing implement.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trite
(legal) So well established as to be beyond debate: trite law.
Trait
An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
The number one personality trait I hate is hypocrisy. Why can't you be consistent!?
Trite
A denomination of coinage in ancient Greece equivalent to one third of a stater.
Trait
(object-oriented) An uninstantiable collection of methods that provides functionality to a class by using the class’s own interface.
Traits are somewhat between an interface and a mixin.
Trite
Trite, a genus of spiders, found in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, of the family Salticidae.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trait
A stroke; a touch.
By this single trait Homer makes an essential difference between the Iliad and Odyssey.
Trite
Worn out; common; used until so common as to have lost novelty and interest; hackneyed; stale; as, a trite remark; a trite subject.
Trait
A distinguishing or marked feature; a peculiarity; as, a trait of character.
Trite
Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse;
Bromidic sermons
His remarks were trite and commonplace
Hackneyed phrases
A stock answer
Repeating threadbare jokes
Parroting some timeworn axiom
The trite metaphor `hard as nails'
Trait
A distinguishing feature of your personal nature
ADVERTISEMENT