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

Ordinarily, the immune system of any mammal will work to fight off a fungal parasite.

—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

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

Synonyms of ordinarily

• usually
• normally
• typically

Examples 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

Even after being added to the prestigious Nasdaq 100 and Russell 1000 stock indexes, which ordinarily would have sparked buying, the stock has fallen every single day, except for one, since then. — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 16 July 2026

Coaches can make interventions during a half, and allow for momentum shifts within games which may not ordinarily materialize. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 13 July 2026

Crosses were fired a little long; shots were off target; the ordinarily unbridled midfield was quiet. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 July 2026

Those restraints are ordinarily exempt from antitrust scrutiny because they were bargained by MLB and MLBPA. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ordinarily

• arbitrarily
• customarily
• militarily
• momentarily
• necessarily
• secondarily
• temporarily
• voluntarily
• airily
• caroli
• merrily
• verily