Definition of pedestrian
- his sentences and phrases are too often pedestrian, commonplace, and flat
- —The Times Literary Supplement (London)
- pedestrian traffic
- a pedestrian tour of the village
- a pedestrian mall
- a pedestrian bridge
He lived a pedestrian life, working at the paper mill and living in his trailer.
pedestrian concerns like paying the bills and getting the kids to school on time
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pedestrian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Most of us know pedestrian as a noun meaning someone who travels on foot. But the adjective sense of pedestrian as defined here is actually its original meaning. To be pedestrian was to be drab or dull, as if plodding along on foot rather than speeding on horseback or by coach. Pedestrian is often used to describe a colorless or lifeless writing style, but it can also describe politicians, public tastes, personal qualities, or possessions. In comparison with the elaborate stage shows put on by today's rock artists, for instance, most of the stage presentations of 1960s rock stars seem pedestrian.
arid, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying;
absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting;
amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous;
animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling;
amusing, diverting, entertaining;
alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating;
aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless;
blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular;
annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating;
draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing;
demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting;
common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid;
cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey);
The car slid off the road and almost hit a group of pedestrians.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pedestrian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
: not interesting or unusual
: relating to or designed for people who are walking
: a person who is walking in a city, along a road, etc.
See words that rhyme with pedestrian Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pedestrian Spanish Central: Translation of pedestrian Nglish: Translation of pedestrian for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pedestrian for Arabic speakers
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