extraordinary
adjective
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What is the difference between extraordinary and extra ordinary?
Prefixes can be tricky things, often carrying meanings that differ from what one might expect. Additionally, some prefixes are spelled like independent English words, yet may have meanings that are different from those words. Such is the case with the word extra and the prefix extra-.
The word extra is used as a noun, adjective, and an adverb. When used as a separate word, as in the sentence “It was an extra ordinary day,” “extra” is functioning as an adverb meaning “very.” An “extra ordinary day” is a day that is very ordinary. In contrast, the prefix extra- means “outside or beyond.” Attached to “ordinary,” in “It was an extraordinary day,” the meaning changes markedly, to “It was a day beyond ordinary.”
Synonyms
Examples of extraordinary in a Sentence
Rosamund Daw, Nature, 13 Oct. 2005
Jimi Hendrix is one of those extraordinary hubs of music where everybody lands at some point. Every musician passes through Hendrix International Airport eventually. … He is the common denominator of every style of contemporary music.
—John Mayer, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2004
Like the eighteenth-century Scots, whose similar borderland situation stimulated an extraordinary renaissance in letters, natural science, and social science, the Americans' ambivalent identities led them to the interstices of metropolitan thought where were found new views and new approaches to the old.
—Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew, 2003
Books can even have merits that are owed to their lack of literary quality: Agatha Christie's whodunits display an extraordinary ingenuity in their plotting, but the beauty of the puzzle requires cardboard characters and total implausibility in motives and reasons.
—Richard Jenkyns, New Republic, 28 Jan. 2002
The researchers made an extraordinary discovery.
The race is an extraordinary event.
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Martin Reeves, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2023
The effort involved in creating an academic narrative around wishful thinking quickly becomes extraordinary and finally ridiculous.
—Mike Coté, National Review, 3 Dec. 2023
Even by Washington standards, where truth and fiction live side by side, Santos’ particular taste for fabrication was extraordinary.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2023
Of course, no one left empty-handed as guests were treated to warm pretzels and hot chocolate before heading home to cap off an extraordinary night at the museum.
—Maia Torres, Vogue, 1 Dec. 2023
India South Asian gins have seen an extraordinary rise of late, and Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin is a leading example of this trend.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
His extraordinary gift for music, zest for living and rebellious nature cemented him as an icon in Ireland and all around the world.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Nov. 2023
But this isn't Anatomy of a Fall, the extraordinary French film that leaves audiences debating over the guilt of a woman accused of killing her husband.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 30 Nov. 2023
Imagine a world where good friendships are like the perfect combo of your favorite drink and food—a mix that turns everyday moments into something extraordinary, especially during friend gatherings.
—Sapphira Martin, Essence, 29 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extraordinary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English extraordinarie, from Latin extraordinarius, from extra ordinem out of course, from extra + ordinem, accusative of ordin-, ordo order
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing extraordinary
Dictionary Entries Near extraordinary
Cite this Entry
“Extraordinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraordinary. Accessed 16 Dec. 2023.
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extraordinary
adjective
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extraordinary
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More from Merriam-Webster on extraordinary
Nglish: Translation of extraordinary for Spanish Speakers
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