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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 The remarkable video that injects divisive politics into the mundane process of airport security has sparked controversy as many airports refuse to show it. Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025 Seems like mundane treatments for a berry so revered by Native Americans long before the arrival of the first Europeans. Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for mundane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mundane
Adjective
  • Because Moreno was not yet established, the Diamondbacks wanted an everyday outfielder in Gurriel, too.
    Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The project advances from lab to real-world scale with real heavy-duty trucks and buses using the infrastructure in everyday conditions.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 24 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
  • Having exhausted our terrestrial destination, humanity is now reaching for extraterrestrial ones.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Instead of running physical cables that connect your home or RV to the greater internet, Starlink uses a series of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that communicate between your home dish and a terrestrial gateway somewhere else on Earth.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In a world where fake medical implants, counterfeit microchips, and cloned devices can threaten lives, money, and security, proving that a physical object is truly genuine is a major challenge.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The onslaught has also reduced churches and town halls across northeastern Ukraine to rubble, and with them, much of the physical and mental infrastructure of life for the country’s youth.
    Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Not quite plant, not quite animal; delicious and wild and rare.
    Callie Sumlin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Perhaps unsurprisingly, dogs were more likely to respond to animal stimuli than to non-animal stimuli.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 July 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
  • Sara and Brian were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, according to the WCSO.
    Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The unidentified 14-year-old student was charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and arraigned Thursday in Fall River Juvenile Court.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Yet now, with artificial intelligence threatening to rob young graduates of a career, universities may even fail to fulfill their worldly promise of employment after graduation.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
  • There have long been debates in churches about whether just listening to worldly music was sinful, let alone playing it.
    Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mundane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mundane. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.

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