Meaning

A person with authority; authority, ordinance..

Definitions by Sense

1. A person with authority; authority, ordinance.
2. Something ordinary or regular.
3. A book setting out ordinary or regular conduct.
4. (law, of a judge) Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.
5. Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.
6. Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory.
7. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, informal) Bad or undesirable.

Example Sentences

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.

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

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.

a. 1859, Thomas Macaulay, "Samuel Johnson," in 1871, Lady Trevelyan (Hannah More Macaulay Trevelyan, editor), The Works of Lord Macaulay Complete, Volume 7, page 325, An ordinary lad would have acquired little or no useful knowledge in such a way: but much that was dull to ordinary lads was interesting to Samuel.

It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.

You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.

Word Forms

• ordinaries
• ordinarie
• more ordinary
• most ordinary

Synonyms for ordinary

Antonyms for ordinary

Related Words

When Should You Use Ordinary?

Use ordinary when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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