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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective common contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of common are familiar, ordinary, plain, popular, and vulgar. While all these words mean "generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual," common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

a common error
lacked common honesty
common manners

When would familiar be a good substitute for common?

The words familiar and common are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

In what contexts can ordinary take the place of common?

The meanings of ordinary and common largely overlap; however, ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day
a very ordinary sort of man

When is plain a more appropriate choice than common?

While in some cases nearly identical to common, plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

When might popular be a better fit than common?

Although the words popular and common have much in common, popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

How do vulgar and popular relate to one another, in the sense of common?

Vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of common Some of the most common uses in the survey were for communications, marketing and advertising, predictive analysis and customer service. Kate Rogers, CNBC, 24 June 2025 This article outlines the most common failure points, the architectural patterns that work and what enterprises need to prioritize when building AI that meets real business standards. Alan Nichol, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025 Tick bites are most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest, with much of the region considered high risk for Lyme disease. Brittney Melton, NPR, 24 June 2025 The most common presentation of early-stage appendix cancer is appendicitis, when the appendix becomes inflamed and infected. Kristen Fischer, Health, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for common
Recent Examples of Synonyms for common
Adjective
  • Her exercises, lifted from decades of performance scores, are designed to turn ordinary acts into meditative rituals.
    Ellen O'Connell Whittet June 25, Literary Hub, 25 June 2025
  • Unlike ordinary memory supplements, Neuriva Memory 3D has clinically tested ingredients to support three dimensions of memory: short-term, long-term and working.
    Adam Mills, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • This means that some particles will decay in the normal world while their counterparts in the mirror would not.
    Zack Savitsky, Wired News, 22 June 2025
  • While the district has enough supply on hand for the nearly 200,000 students who attend district schools, many of those computers are out of warranty and past their normal lifespan, the district’s technology chief told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in an interview last month.
    Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Miami Herald 305-376-3619 Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment.
    Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025
  • However, general privacy concerns can exist between family members, too.
    Sarah Bregel, Parents, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • Al Bello/Getty Images Outside of the Giants' organization, expectations are low.
    Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
  • Does the Trump administration really want to sink that low?
    Louis Balsamo, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • America is drifting into collective amnesia regarding our history.
    Connor Boyack, National Review, 29 June 2025
  • All their collective buying and, especially, streaming activity has turned the band’s breakout album into a hit again.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • Harrison, the key player for the Red Sox insofar as immediate return, has been a mediocre (4.48 ERA in 35 starts) mid-rotation starter for the Giants.
    Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025
  • While the pressure will be on for Switzerland to improve their mediocre tournament record, there is only one way to make diamonds (hint: starts with p and ends in ressure).
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • The key drivers are BGE’s soaring spending and profits and poor management by PJM Interconnection, the private entity that operates our electric grid.
    Emily Scarr, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2025
  • Despite having a poor 2024 season that saw the Pirates remove Bednar from the closer role, the right-hander is back to his dominant form.
    Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • Using vulgar, profane or indecent language in a loud or boisterous manner in the presence of children.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 16 June 2025
  • Between 12% and 13.3% of Americans, around 10% of Brits, and 9.4% of Australians used at least one vulgar word in their data.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Common.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/common. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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