Synonyms for ordinary
- adjective
- noun
Most common
commonplace common everyday mundane indifferent middling inferior
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Commonplace — being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine
commonplace, common, everyday, mundane, run-of-the-mill, usual, average, normal, workaday, plain, unexceptional, regular, unremarkable, quotidian, conventional, customary, routine, humdrum, typical, nondescript, simple, standard
2. Indifferent — having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory
indifferent, middling, so-so informal, tolerable, decent, acceptable, low, passable, fair, moderate, pedestrian, lackluster US, lack-lustre UK, lacklustre UK
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.
On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym.
- adj. 2
Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory.
He looked so ordinary, I never thought he'd be capable of murder.
- adj. 3
Bad or undesirable.
- n. 1
A person with authority; authority, ordinance. A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.
Related words
- Word family
- ordinarily ordinariness
- Phrases
- ordinary language ordinary share
Forms
- Plural
- ordinaries → bishops, hierarchs…
Choose the right word
A thing is ordinary when it is apt to come round in the regular common order or succession of events.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- everyday I have no time to listen to such everyday affairs.
- mundane Matthew and Linda mostly talked about very mundane things.
- commonplace Rice and noodles are commonplace in Chinese cuisine.
- passable It's passable. Nothing out of the ordinary.
- terrible Terrible shooting broke out the night before last.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| ordinary | falling | |
| everyday | rising | |
| mundane | rising | |
| commonplace | rising | |
| passable | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- low1
- 4 letters
- fair1
- 5 letters
- usual3, awful2, plain1
- 6 letters
- common2, simple2, normal2, decent2, bishop2, coarse1
- 7 letters
- average3, regular3, typical3, routine2, mundane2, humdrum2
- 8 letters
- standard2, terrible3, everyday3, horrible3, moderate3, inferior4, middling3, passable3, workaday3, hierarch
- 9 letters
- customary4, tolerable4, quotidian, inelegant
- 10 letters
- acceptable4, pedestrian4, lackluster3, lacklustre
- 11 letters
- commonplace3, indifferent3, nondescript3
- 12 letters
- conventional4, unremarkable5
- 13 letters
- unexceptional
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (usual3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- ordinaire
- Italiano
- ordinario
- Deutsch
- alltäglich
- Català
- ordinari