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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 Because water is one of the most common molecules in the universe, its presence in HD 181327's debris disk is not a surprise. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 19 May 2025 Key Takeaways Anxiety is common and can impact daily life. Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 19 May 2025 Prostate cancer is common in older men, with the NCI estimating that about 1 in 8 males in the U.S. will be diagnosed with the disease. Chad De Guzman, Time, 19 May 2025 And climate change is causing dangerous weather to get more common. Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for common
Recent Examples of Synonyms for common
Adjective
  • Beyond the fact that using AI tools to write is generally frowned upon and considered to be unethical, AI writing has become so ubiquitous that using AI or modeling one’s work off of it is a surefire way to make your materials blend into a sea of other cookie-cutter essays.
    Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
  • This is story about untangling the mysteries as to why something so ubiquitous – and seemingly endless – could be on the cusp of disappearing entirely.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • Command that eluded McCullers across his first two appearances started to creep back toward normal.
    Chandler Rome, New York Times, 17 May 2025
  • Instead, the year quickly fell into a pattern that has become all too familiar for the local industry when the hopes that things might finally return to normal were squandered yet again by an unprecedented, devastating event.
    Katie Campione, Deadline, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • When these systems break under the stress of abuse, neglect, or general incompetence, bad things happen.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 May 2025
  • The country’s powerful military is run by the general Asim Munir, known for his hardline stance on India.
    Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Abarth is low cost, high return and should be encouraged.
    Mark Phelan, USA Today, 20 May 2025
  • In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly lower across Europe and Asia.
    Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • That money was to be held in trust for the collective benefit of tribes.
    Graham Lee Brewer, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
  • Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said on May 22 that the plan would strengthen Europe’s collective defense and reduce the long-term cost of containing Russian aggression.
    Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • Be Strategic with Equity Compensation When Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) vest, the value is treated as ordinary income and taxed immediately.
    Malana VanTyler, USA Today, 20 May 2025
  • So many aspects of this Holy Father are just so ordinary.
    Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2025
Adjective
  • The product was released in 2023 to a poor reception, and discontinued before the company began winding down operations in February.
    Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 24 May 2025
  • The original doesn’t go that deeply into it, but this poor girl was essentially forced to be a teen mom at this time in her life when all of her friends would be graduating high school and dating and thinking about their futures.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • In that sense, the vulgar Vader situation creates a touchy dilemma for Epic Games and Disney, which likely invested substantially in this high-profile collaboration.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 16 May 2025
  • Amid the attention, the new pontiff's eldest brother has drawn scrutiny for social media posts praising Trump and using inflammatory, vulgar rhetoric toward Democrats and transgender people.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Common.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/common. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

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