ordinary
adjective /ˈɔː.dɪ.nə.ri/
/ˈɔːr.dən.er-/ Definition
B1 not different or special or unexpected in any way; usual: an ordinary neighbourhood Readers of the magazine said they wanted more stories about ordinary people and fewer stories about the rich and famous. Her last concert appearance in Britain was no ordinary (= a very special) performance.Plain and ordinaryTedious and uninspiring in the ordinary way UK › normally, or in the way that usually happens: If we hadn't seen the TV programme, we would have carried on giving money to the charity in the ordinary way.Plain and ordinaryTedious and uninspiring out of the ordinary C2 unusual: For the police, the incident seemed nothing out of the ordinary/did not seem out of the ordinary.Unique and unusualGood, better and best in terms of quality ordinariness /ˈɔː.dɪ.nə.ri.nəs/
/ˌɔːr.dənˈer-/ noun [U] › She expected him to act like a star, but she was surprised at his ordinariness.Plain and ordinaryTedious and uninspiring
/ˌɔːr.dənˈer-/ noun [U] › She expected him to act like a star, but she was surprised at his ordinariness.Plain and ordinaryTedious and uninspiring(Definition of ordinary adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Plain and ordinary, but you might be interested in these topics from the General and specific topic area:
- Adapting and attuning to something
- Elaborating, specifying and simplifying
- Exceptional qualities, things and people
- General
- Habitual and customary
- Habitual behaviour
- Particular and individual
- Standard and routine
- Strange, suspicious and unnatural
- Strange, suspicious and unnatural things and people
- Unique and unusual
- Unknown and unfamiliar
Browse the Dictionary
Browse the Thesaurus
More Results for “ordinary”
SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- as it comes idiom
- austere adjective
- austerity noun
- be a dime a dozen idiom
- be two/ten a penny idiom
- homely adjective (PLAIN)
- homespun adjective
- homey adjective
- humble adjective
- humdrum adjective
- kitchen-sink adjective
- severe adjective (PLAIN)
- severely adverb (PLAINLY)
- simple adjective (PLAIN)
- something/nothing to shout about idiom
- spartan adjective
- unremarkable adjective
- well trodden adjective
- workaday adjective
- workmanlike adjective
Topic:
Plain and ordinary
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Word of the Day
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
