ordinary
B1Neutral (used in all registers from casual to formal)
Definition
Meaning
Normal, common, or usual; with no special or distinctive features.
Used to describe something that is average, standard, or lacking in excellence, special status, or superiority. Can also refer to a common rank (e.g., in the church) or a prescribed form of service.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Can be neutral (simply 'not special') or mildly negative (implying dullness or mediocrity). Context heavily influences connotation. Often contrasted with 'extraordinary'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major lexical differences. In British legal/ecclesiastical contexts, 'Ordinary' can be a title (e.g., 'the Ordinary of a diocese'). The phrase 'out of the ordinary' is equally common in both varieties.
Connotations
Largely identical. Both can carry a neutral or slightly negative sense.
Frequency
Equally common in both varieties. The noun usage (e.g., 'the ordinary') for a judge or bishop is more frequent in formal UK contexts.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[ADJ] + NOUN (ordinary day)BE + [ADJ] (is ordinary)VERB + [ADJ] + NOUN (lead an ordinary life)of + [ADJ] + quality (of ordinary intelligence)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “out of the ordinary”
- “in the ordinary course of events”
- “the ordinary run of things”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to describe standard procedures, regular expenses, or typical market conditions (e.g., 'ordinary course of business').
Academic
Often used in contrast to specialised or theoretical concepts (e.g., 'ordinary language', 'ordinary consciousness').
Everyday
Very common for describing mundane objects, days, or people (e.g., 'an ordinary coffee mug').
Technical
In science, can contrast with 'dark' (ordinary matter) or in law, refers to common judges or shares (ordinary shares).
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- No common verb form.
American English
- No common verb form.
adverb
British English
- No common adverb form. 'Ordinarily' is used.
American English
- No common adverb form. 'Ordinarily' is used.
adjective
British English
- It was just an ordinary Tuesday.
- She preferred an ordinary pub lunch to fine dining.
American English
- He drives an ordinary sedan, nothing fancy.
- For an ordinary citizen, the process was confusing.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I wear ordinary clothes to school.
- It is an ordinary house.
- The food was good, but nothing out of the ordinary.
- For most ordinary people, the cost is too high.
- The detective noticed something quite ordinary that others had overlooked.
- In ordinary circumstances, I would agree, but this is an emergency.
- His genius lay in transforming the mundane poetry of ordinary life into art.
- The legislation was challenged as exceeding the council's ordinary powers.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of ORDINARY sounds like 'ORDER-in-ary'. Things in their usual ORDER are ORDINARY.
Conceptual Metaphor
ORDINARY IS THE DEFAULT/STANDARD (extraordinary is a deviation from the standard path).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'ординарный' (which means 'extraordinary/exceptional' in Russian – a false friend).
- Better translations: 'обычный', 'обыкновенный', 'рядовой'.
- The Russian phrase 'в обычном порядке' maps well to 'in the ordinary course of events'.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: 'It was an ordinarly day.' (misspelling) Correct: 'ordinary'.
- Incorrect: 'He is an ordinary talented.' (redundant/incorrect structure) Correct: 'He is ordinarily talented.' or 'He has ordinary talent.'
Practice
Quiz
In which phrase does 'ordinary' have a slightly negative connotation?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is context-dependent. It can be neutral (describing the norm) or slightly negative (implying dullness or mediocrity). Phrases like 'perfectly ordinary' are neutral, while 'just ordinary' can imply disappointment.
They are often interchangeable. 'Normal' often implies conformity to a standard or lack of deviation, sometimes with a scientific/statistical nuance. 'Ordinary' emphasises commonness and lack of special features. 'Normal' is the opposite of 'abnormal'; 'ordinary' is the opposite of 'extraordinary'.
It's a common idiom meaning 'unusual' or 'unexpected'. It is used after 'something', 'anything', or 'nothing'. E.g., 'Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?' or 'Our day was nothing out of the ordinary.'
Yes, but it's specialised. It can refer to a judge with immediate authority (e.g., a bishop in their diocese) in ecclesiastical or historical legal contexts, or to the regular, customary condition or course of things (e.g., 'the ordinary of a Mass'). This usage is less common in everyday language.