ordinary

UK /ˈɔːdɪnəɹi/ US /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/

noun 6adj 4

Definitions

noun

A person with authority; authority, ordinance.

I […] will lay to till you come within hail […] but pray respond by the first ordinary.

A person with authority; authority, ordinance.

He died with pious composure and resolution. I have just seen the Ordinary that attended him.

Something ordinary or regular.

adj

Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.

Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.

On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym.

Method is not leſs requiſite in ordinary converſation than in writing, provided a man would talk to make himſelf underſtood.

Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory.

I live a very ordinary life most of the time, but every year I spend a week in Antarctica.

He looked so ordinary, I never thought he'd be capable of murder.

Bad or undesirable.

1983 September 20, Bruce Stannard, Australia II Joins Our Greats, The Age, republished 2003, David Headon (editor), The Best Ever Australian Sports Writing: A 200 Year Collection, page 480, It was, in some ways a sad, almost pathetic sight to see this great American boat which had fought so hard throughout the cup summer, now looking very ordinary indeed.

1961, Joanna White, quoted in 2005, A. James Hammerton, Alistair Thomson, Ten Pound Poms: Australia′s Invisible Migrants, page 80, For myself, I loved adventure and travelling. I′d already done quite a bit of travelling in Europe and — couldn′t get enough of it and whilst my marriage, at that stage, was very happy, he was very entrenched as a Londoner, Cockney, absolutely Cockney Londoner, and I could see that our future was pretty ordinary and so my hidden agenda I suppose was to drag him out to Australia and hope that both our lifestyles would improve and there would be new opportunities.

noun

The part of the Roman Catholic Mass that is the same every day

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be, look, seem

become

ADV

decidedly, terribly, very

The restaurant looked terribly ordinary from the outside, but the food was amazing.

perfectly, quite

The movie was quite ordinary, so we left before it finished.

fairly, pretty, rather

His job at the factory was rather ordinary, but he enjoyed the steady paycheck.

essentially

Thesaurus

Synonyms

adjective — lacking special distinction, rank, or status

average

Antonyms

extraordinary

Idioms & Phrases

out of the ordinary

Unusual or exceptional, especially for the better.

The food was expensive, and nothing out of the ordinary.

Example Bank

I […] will lay to till you come within hail […] but pray respond by the first ordinary.

Wiktionary

He died with pious composure and resolution. I have just seen the Ordinary that attended him.

Wiktionary

In short, Mr. Jolter could give a very good account of the stages on the road, and […] was a connoisseur in ordinaries, from twelve to five and thirty livres […].

Wiktionary

On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym.

Wiktionary

Method is not leſs requiſite in ordinary converſation than in writing, provided a man would talk to make himſelf underſtood.

Wiktionary

The three were now assembled in the old banqueting-hall, which, from its state of better preservation, had become their ordinary chamber.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, ordinary is marked as obsolete, informal, historical, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.

Your note

not saved

0 chars