ordinary

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Of the usual kind, with nothing about it that is different from what you would expect.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: an ordinary day, it was ordinary.

   Patterns

   • an ordinary something
   • ordinary for someone

   It was an ordinary Tuesday until the phone rang.

   They live in an ordinary house on an ordinary street.

   This is just an ordinary cold, not the flu.

2. 2adjectivecomparabledisapproving

   Not special or impressive in quality; average or unremarkable, often with a hint of disappointment.

   Grammar: Often follows a verb with a slightly critical sense: the food was ordinary.

   Patterns

   • rather ordinary
   • nothing but ordinary

   The hotel was fine but rather ordinary.

   His essay was ordinary and didn't stand out.

   I expected a famous chef's cooking, not something so ordinary.

3. 3adjectivebefore a noun

   Belonging to the general public rather than to people with special rank, position or power.

   Grammar: Appears before plural nouns like people or citizens.

   Patterns

   • ordinary people
   • ordinary citizens

   The new tax hits ordinary families hardest.

   Ordinary people queued for hours to see the parade.

   She wanted to hear from ordinary workers, not managers.

Word forms

Common combinations

ordinary people

Ordinary people are tired of rising prices.

out of the ordinary

Nothing out of the ordinary happened on the trip.

ordinary life

After the fame, he longed for ordinary life.

perfectly ordinary

It was a perfectly ordinary morning.

ordinary citizen

An ordinary citizen can attend the council meeting.

Synonyms and how they differ

normal

Normal means fitting the expected pattern and is rarely critical, while ordinary can hint that something lacks quality.

average

Average points to a middle level in a measurable range, whereas ordinary is about being plain or typical.

commonplace

Commonplace suggests something is so frequent that it has stopped being noticed.

unremarkable

Unremarkable is more openly negative and says there is nothing worth commenting on.

Opposites

Word family

ordinarily adverb

in the usual way or in normal circumstances

ordinariness noun

the state of being plain or typical

extraordinary adjective

very unusual or remarkable

ordinary noun

as in out of the ordinary, the usual state of things

Commonly confused: ordinary or ordinal?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ordinary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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