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ordinary

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of ordinary

1 being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events

  • it was a perfectly ordinary and undistinguished shirt
Synonyms of ordinary

average, common, commonplace, cut-and-dried (also cut-and-dry), everyday, garden-variety, normal, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, standard-issue, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual, workaday
Words Related to ordinary

regular, typical, unextraordinary

familiar, homely, plain, plain-Jane, popular, vulgar

natural

customary, wonted

insignificant, trivial, unimportant

frequent, habitual

expected, predictable
Phrases Synonymous with ordinary

par for the course
Near Antonyms of ordinary

curious, funny, peculiar, quaint, queer

aberrant, anomalous, atypical, irregular, untypical

rare, recherché, scarce

fantastic (also fantastical), phenomenal

bizarre, far-out, Kafkaesque, outrageous, outré, wacky (also whacky), way-out, weird, wild

eccentric, idiosyncratic, kooky (also kookie), nonconformist, oddball, offbeat, unconventional, unorthodox

freak, freakish

conspicuous, notable, novel, outstanding, prominent, salient, signal, striking, unexampled, unprecedented

singular, unique, unparalleled
Antonyms of ordinary

abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, odd, out-of-the-way, strange, unusual

2 of average to below average quality

  • the pizza at that restaurant is just ordinary—it's nothing to write home about
Synonyms of ordinary

common, fair, indifferent, mediocre, medium, middling, passable, run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine (or run-of-mine), second-class, second-rate, so-so
Words Related to ordinary

acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, decent, OK (or okay), reasonable, satisfactory, sufficient, sufficing, tolerable

moderate, modest

presentable, respectable

minimal, unexceptional

fine, good, nice
Near Antonyms of ordinary

A1, capital, choice, classic, distinguished, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fabulous, fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, marvelous (or marvellous), matchless, maximum, nifty, number one (also No. 1), optimal, optimum, outstanding, par excellence, peerless, preeminent, prime, sensational, special, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supreme, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch

unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wanting

3 often observed or encountered

  • an ordinary hairstyle for boys of that age
Synonyms of ordinary

common, common or garden [chiefly British], commonplace, everyday, familiar, frequent, garden-variety, household, quotidian, routine, ubiquitous, usual
Words Related to ordinary

normal, regular, standard

de rigueur, mandatory, obligatory

general, universal

ceaseless, constant, continual, continuous, incessant, unceasing

endemic, popular, prevailing, prevalent, rampant

perennial, recurrent, repeated
Phrases Synonymous with ordinary

a dime a dozen
Near Antonyms of ordinary

aberrant, abnormal, irregular, unnatural

intermittent, occasional, sporadic
Antonyms of ordinary

extraordinary, infrequent, rare, seldom, uncommon, unfamiliar, unusual

Synonym Discussion of ordinary

common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual. common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence
    • a common error
    • lacked common honesty
and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.
    • common manners
ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.
    • an ordinary pleasant summer day
    • a very ordinary sort of man
plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.
    • plain hard-working people
familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.
    • a familiar melody
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
vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).
    • souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Learn More about ordinary

  1. See words that rhyme with ordinary Dictionary: Definition of ordinary Spanish Central: Translation of ordinary Nglish: Translation of ordinary for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ordinary for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ordinary

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