ordinarily
adverb
or·di·nar·i·ly
ˌȯr-də-ˈner-ə-lē 
: in an ordinary manner or to an ordinary extent: such as
a
: in the ordinary course of events : usually
She was ordinarily very busy in the morning.
the jobs ordinarily handled by junior staff members
… cortisol, a hormone which ordinarily comes into play in situations of bodily stress …—
Maggie Scarf
Maggie ScarfOrdinarily, the immune system of any mammal will work to fight off a fungal parasite.—David Quammen
David Quammen
b
: to the usual extent : moderately
It must suffice for him to be ordinarily honest according to the ordinary honesty of the world's ways …—Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
c
: in a commonplace or inferior way : without distinction
A friend of mine … has two apartments on the 3rd floor, very ordinarily furnished …—Walt Whitman
Walt WhitmanExamples of ordinarily in a Sentence
ordinarily, I get off work at five, but this week I'm working late to meet a project deadline
Recent Examples on the Web
Sorsby and Texas Tech might also petition the NCAA to punish the Big 12 and other members for undermining a court order, improper conduct that the NCAA would ordinarily find problematic even if in this instance the NCAA is an adverse party to Sorsby.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 June 2026
Kansas City, Atlanta and Miami were among those in contention to stage games and each of Missouri, Georgia and Florida introduced exemptions on taxes ordinarily applied to ticket sales for matches at their Arrowhead (Kansas City), Mercedes-Benz (Atlanta) and Hard Rock (Miami) stadiums.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Rowland said ordinarily that may be a very strong argument.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
Amid a dense thicket of timber-and-metal stalls where secondhand retailers ordinarily hawked their wares, a runner of red-and-green astroturf cut a path toward a stage draped in the tricolor of the Ghanaian flag.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ordinarily
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.
Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 June 2026
Kansas City, Atlanta and Miami were among those in contention to stage games and each of Missouri, Georgia and Florida introduced exemptions on taxes ordinarily applied to ticket sales for matches at their Arrowhead (Kansas City), Mercedes-Benz (Atlanta) and Hard Rock (Miami) stadiums.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Rowland said ordinarily that may be a very strong argument.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026
Amid a dense thicket of timber-and-metal stalls where secondhand retailers ordinarily hawked their wares, a runner of red-and-green astroturf cut a path toward a stage draped in the tricolor of the Ghanaian flag.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ordinarily
Cite this Entry
“Ordinarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordinarily. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
