Synonym Chooser

How is the word customary distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of customary are accustomed, habitual, usual, and wonted. While all these words mean "familiar through frequent or regular repetition," customary applies to what accords with the practices, conventions, or usages of an individual or community.

the customary waiting period before the application is approved

How does the word accustomed relate to other synonyms for customary?

Accustomed is less emphatic than wonted or habitual in suggesting fixed habit or invariable custom.

accepted the compliment with her accustomed modesty

When is it sensible to use habitual instead of customary?

In some situations, the words habitual and customary are roughly equivalent. However, habitual suggests a practice settled or established by much repetition.

a habitual morning routine

When might usual be a better fit than customary?

While the synonyms usual and customary are close in meaning, usual stresses the absence of strangeness or unexpectedness.

my usual order for lunch

When is wonted a more appropriate choice than customary?

The meanings of wonted and customary largely overlap; however, wonted stresses habituation but usually applies to what is favored, sought, or purposefully cultivated.

his wonted determination

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 customary As is customary, hearing from the banks officially kicks off every earnings season. Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025 Our guides prepared with customary rigor, reading widely in the ever-growing scholarship on women in the early republic. Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025 Duane killed a deer, but his customary enthusiasm for the hunt still eluded him. Marguerite Reiss, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025 West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the city did not receive notice ahead of the closure, as is customary before large layoffs, leaving all parties blindsided by the move. Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for customary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for customary
Adjective
  • Her video featured her usual format of showing herself making an iced coffee before pausing to speak to the camera.
    Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • The postal service is primarily self-funded and doesn't depend on the appropriations process to continue running as usual.
    The NPR Network, NPR, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Other times, the mob leaned on more traditional crime tactics — robbery, extortion and assault, including a punch to one victim’s face — to force the card players to pay.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Tight ends fiercely preserve their own history and the nuances of their position, preferring peer-to-peer coaching to more traditional coach/player dynamics.
    Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This replaces a solid material that replaces the flammable liquid electrolyte found in conventional batteries.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The smaller Nomads will be powered by hybrid electric drivetrains, while the larger ones will use conventional engines.
    David Szondy October 19, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Dissent is nothing more than the expression of an opinion that varies from the prevailing or traditional view or the position held by those in power.
    Elizabeth Shackelford, Twin Cities, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Billups was arrested less than nine hours after Portland’s season-opening season-opening loss at home, a game notably attended by the team’s current owner and a financier in the process of buying the franchise.
    Andrew Greif, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2025
  • But current technologies like micro-LEDs hit a limit when pixels shrink below one micrometer.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Customary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/customary. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on customary

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