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Synonym Chooser

How is the word mundane distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words earthly and worldly are common synonyms of mundane. While all three words mean "belonging to or characteristic of the earth," mundane suggests reference to the immediate and practical.

a mundane discussion of finances

In what contexts can earthly take the place of mundane?

While in some cases nearly identical to mundane, earthly often implies a contrast with what is heavenly or spiritual.

abandoned earthly concerns and entered a convent

How are the words worldly and mundane related?

Worldly and mundane both imply a relation to the immediate concerns and activities of human beings, worldly suggesting tangible personal gain or gratification.

worldly goods

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 mundane Even the more utilitarian and mundane areas of the home include unexpected conveniences and luxuries. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 12 Oct. 2025 The pair bicker and bond their way through the whimsical Panda Kingdom, a vibrant world that blends the everyday with the extraordinary, carrying animals and humans alike into something at once magical and mundane. Ben Croll, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025 The film highlights mundane details of camaraderie behind the scenes of every fight, emphasizing the bonds between the fighters, who would often root for one another after their bouts were over. David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025 Stuck here on the planet’s surface, our mundane perspective is rarely challenged, so seeing both our world and its lone natural satellite side by side is a rare gift, a jolt to our cosmic complacence. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mundane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mundane
Adjective
  • The innovation is part of a growing effort to merge menstrual care with wearable health technology, turning everyday products into tools for early disease detection and better reproductive health monitoring.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Keep everyday items out of sight with cabinets, drawers, and more—all on sale now.
    Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This temporal displacement frees Pynchon to offer sidelong commentary on contemporary politics without getting trapped in the flux of the present or being too on the nose.
    Jack Denton, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
  • To practice ‘future temporal focused’ networking, create a timetable and ask yourself key questions.
    Sarah Maokosy, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Unistellar plans to have over 1 million terrestrial points of interest added to its database, with Envision including real-time altitude, distance and azimuth data into the display.
    Tariq Malik, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2025
  • He was instantly hooked by Channel 4’s weekly NFL coverage following the terrestrial channel’s launch in 1982.
    Peter Carline, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Ethernet uses a physical cable that connects your computer directly to the router.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Despite its name, the condition, which has yet to be formally recognized, is often also paired with emotional, cognitive and physical dysfunction.
    Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 paved the way for alternatives to animal testing, and in December 2023, an NIH advisory committee made similar recommendations to develop non-animal methods.
    Rachel Fobar, Vox, 14 May 2025
  • Rendering is a process that transforms animal by-products, like leftover meat and fats...and yes, chicken feet, into usable materials, such as animal feed, fuel, and other industrial products.
    Phil Kafarakis, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Ordinary matter makes up everything from the cosmic (planets and stars) to the earthly (people and trees).
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Sanchez is facing a level 5 felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury charge and three misdemeanor charges, battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.
    Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The rhythms of the menstrual cycle often reflect balance in other bodily systems and functions.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Moncrieff was the opposite, old-worldly, not of this time.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Parked nearby is a grocery cart filled with his worldly processions.
    Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mundane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mundane. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

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