ordinaryadjective
uk/ˈɔː.dən.əri/us/ˈɔːr.dən.er.i/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.
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.
out of the ordinary
C2 unusual:
For the police, the incident was nothing out of the ordinary/did not seem out of the ordinary.
More examples
- Her paintings depict the lives of ordinary people in the last century.
- Movie theaters are harder to repurpose than ordinary stores in a shopping mall.
- She accused the government of trampling on the needs and rights of the ordinary citizen.
- At times, his performance verged on brilliance, but at others it was only ordinary.
- My job's been downgraded to that of ordinary editor.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Plain and ordinary
- as it comes idiom
- austere
- austerity
- be a dime a dozen idiom
- be two/ten a penny idiom
- dime
- homely
- homespun
- homey
- humble
- humdrum
- kitchen-sink
- penny
- shout
- simple
- something/nothing to shout about idiom
- spartan
- stale
- stark
- starkly
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Unique and unusual
ordinariness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈɔː.dən.əri.nəs/us/ˌɔːr.dənˈer.i.nəs/
She expected him to act like a star, but she was surprised at his ordinariness.