Extraordinary vs. Ordinary — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 27, 2023
Extraordinary means beyond usual or exceptional; Ordinary implies common or typical.
Difference Between Extraordinary and Ordinary
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Extraordinary refers to something beyond what is usual, common, or expected, while ordinary denotes what is commonplace or standard.
Extraordinary often implies rarity, uniqueness, or exceptionality, whereas ordinary suggests the routine or everyday.
The term extraordinary can denote a high degree of excellence or quality, in contrast to ordinary, which implies mediocrity or averageness.
While extraordinary can imply something remarkable or noteworthy, ordinary often suggests something lacking special features.
Extraordinary can suggest a break from the norm or a deviation from standard patterns, whereas ordinary conveys a sense of conforming to the usual or expected.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Beyond what is usual
Common or typical
Implication
Exceptional, rare
Routine, everyday
Connotation
Remarkable, noteworthy
Mediocre, average
Rarity
Suggests rarity
Implies commonplace
Deviation
Break from the norm
Conforms to the norm
Compare with Definitions
Extraordinary
Beyond usual
The athlete's extraordinary speed impressed the scouts.
Ordinary
Common or usual
It was just an ordinary day at work.
Extraordinary
Rare or uncommon
It was an extraordinary event in the town's history.
Ordinary
Typical or standard
He lived an ordinary suburban life.
Extraordinary
Far from ordinary
The landscape had an extraordinary beauty.
Ordinary
With no special or distinctive features; normal
It was just an ordinary evening
He sets out to depict ordinary people
Extraordinary
Beyond what is ordinary or usual
Extraordinary authority.
Ordinary
(especially of a judge or bishop) exercising authority by virtue of office and not by deputation.
Extraordinary
Very unusual or remarkable
It is extraordinary that no consultation took place
The extraordinary plumage of the male
Ordinary
What is commonplace or standard
Their clichés were vested with enough emotion to elevate them above the ordinary
Extraordinary
(of a meeting) specially convened
An extraordinary session of the Congress
Ordinary
A judge who exercises authority by virtue of office and not by deputation.
Extraordinary
An item in a company's accounts not arising from its normal activities.
Ordinary
A member of the clergy, such as an archbishop in a province or a bishop in a diocese, with immediate jurisdiction.
Extraordinary
Highly exceptional; remarkable
An extraordinary achievement.
Ordinary
Those parts of a Roman Catholic service, especially the Mass, which do not vary from day to day.
Extraordinary
Employed or used for a special service, function, or occasion
A minister extraordinary.
An extraordinary professor.
Ordinary
Any of the simplest principal charges used in coats of arms (especially chief, pale, bend, fess, bar, chevron, cross, saltire).
Extraordinary
Not ordinary; exceptional; unusual.
Ordinary
Short for ordinary share
Extraordinary
Remarkably good.
An extraordinary poet
Ordinary
A meal provided at a fixed time and price at an inn.
Extraordinary
Special or supernumerary.
The physician extraordinary in a royal household
An extraordinary professor in a German university
Ordinary
A penny-farthing bicycle.
Extraordinary
Anything that goes beyond what is ordinary.
Ordinary
Commonly encountered; usual
An ordinary delay at the bridge tolls.
Extraordinary
Beyond or out of the common order or method; not usual, customary, regular, or ordinary; as, extraordinary evils; extraordinary remedies.
Which disposeTo something extraordinary my thoughts.
Ordinary
Having no special ability, quality, or purpose
Ordinary people.
Ordinary black tea.
Extraordinary
Exceeding the common degree, measure. or condition; hence, remarkable; uncommon; rare; wonderful; as, extraordinary talents or grandeur.
Ordinary
Not particularly good; not better than average
The service was good, but the food was very ordinary.
Extraordinary
Employed or sent upon an unusual or special service; as, an ambassador extraordinary.
Ordinary
(Law) Having direct authority to decide a case, rather than being delegated that power, as a judge.
Extraordinary
That which is extraordinary; - used especially in the plural; as, extraordinaries excepted, there is nothing to prevent success.
Their extraordinary did consist especially in the matter of prayers and devotions.
Ordinary
(Mathematics) Designating a differential equation containing no more than one independent variable.
Extraordinary
Beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable;
Extraordinary authority
An extraordinary achievement
Her extraordinary beauty
Enjoyed extraordinary popularity
An extraordinary capacity for work
An extraordinary session of the legislature
Ordinary
The usual or normal condition or course of events
Nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
Extraordinary
Far more than usual or expected;
An extraordinary desire for approval
It was an over-the-top experience
Ordinary
(Law) A judge with direct authority as opposed to delegated authority to decide a case.
Extraordinary
(of an official) serving an unusual or special function in addition to those of the regular officials;
An ambassador extraordinary
Ordinary
The parts of the Mass that remain unchanged from day to day.
Extraordinary
Exceptionally good
She received an award for her extraordinary work.
Ordinary
A division of the Roman Breviary containing the unchangeable parts of the office other than the Psalms.
Extraordinary
Remarkable or noteworthy
His extraordinary memory amazed everyone.
Ordinary
A cleric, such as the residential bishop of a diocese, with ordinary jurisdiction over a specified territory.
Ordinary
(Heraldry) One of the simplest and commonest charges, such as the bend and the cross.
Ordinary
A complete meal provided at a fixed price.
Ordinary
A tavern or inn providing such a meal.
Ordinary
A person with authority; authority, ordinance.
Ordinary
A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.
Ordinary
(obsolete) A courier; someone delivering mail or post.
Ordinary
(law) A judge with the authority to deal with cases himself or herself rather than by delegation.
Ordinary
The chaplain of Newgate prison, who prepared condemned prisoners for death.
Ordinary
Something ordinary or regular.
Ordinary
(obsolete) Customary fare, one's regular daily allowance of food; hence a regular portion or allowance.
Ordinary
A meal provided for a set price at an eating establishment.
Ordinary
A place where such meals are served; a public tavern, inn.
Ordinary
(heraldry) One of the standard geometric designs placed across the center of a coat of arms, such as a pale or fess.
Ordinary
An ordinary person or thing; something commonplace.
Ordinary
The usual course of things; normal condition or health; a standard way of behaviour or action.
Ordinary
A penny farthing bicycle.
Ordinary
(Christianity) A part of the Christian liturgy that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed.
Ordinary
A book setting out ordinary or regular conduct.
Ordinary
(obsolete) A devotional manual; a book setting our rules for proper conduct.
Ordinary
(Christianity) A rule, or book of rules, prescribing the order of service, especially of Mass.
Ordinary
Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.
Ordinary
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.
Ordinary
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.
Ordinary
Bad or undesirable.
Ordinary
According to established order; methodical; settled; regular.
Ordinary
Common; customary; usual.
Method is not less requisite in ordinary conversation that in writing.
Ordinary
Of common rank, quality, or ability; not distinguished by superior excellence or beauty; hence, not distinguished in any way; commonplace; inferior; of little merit; as, men of ordinary judgment; an ordinary book.
An ordinary lad would have acquired little or no useful knowledge in such a way.
Ordinary
An officer who has original jurisdiction in his own right, and not by deputation.
Ordinary
The mass; the common run.
I see no more in you than in the ordinaryOf nature's salework.
Ordinary
That which is so common, or continued, as to be considered a settled establishment or institution.
Spain had no other wars save those which were grown into an ordinary.
Ordinary
Anything which is in ordinary or common use.
Water buckets, wagons, cart wheels, plow socks, and other ordinaries.
Ordinary
A dining room or eating house where a meal is prepared for all comers, at a fixed price for the meal, in distinction from one where each dish is separately charged; a table d'hôte; hence, also, the meal furnished at such a dining room.
All the odd words they have picked up in a coffeehouse, or a gaming ordinary, are produced as flowers of style.
He exacted a tribute for licenses to hawkers and peddlers and to ordinaries.
Ordinary
A charge or bearing of simple form, one of nine or ten which are in constant use. The bend, chevron, chief, cross, fesse, pale, and saltire are uniformly admitted as ordinaries. Some authorities include bar, bend sinister, pile, and others. See Subordinary.
Ordinary
A judge of a probate court
Ordinary
The expected or commonplace condition or situation;
Not out of the ordinary
Ordinary
A clergyman appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death
Ordinary
An early bicycle with a very large front wheel and small back wheel
Ordinary
(heraldry) any of several conventional figures used on shields
Ordinary
Not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree;
Ordinary everyday objects
Ordinary decency
An ordinary day
An ordinary wine
Ordinary
Lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered;
Average people
The ordinary (or common) man in the street
Ordinary
Not special
The meal was ordinary and uninspiring.
Ordinary
Mediocre or average
Her performance was ordinary, not exceptional.
Ordinary
Customary or habitual
Their ordinary routine was rarely disrupted.
Common Curiosities
Is extraordinary always positive?
Mostly, but it can describe anything unusual, not just positive traits.
Does ordinary imply dullness?
It can, especially when contrasted with something extraordinary.
Does extraordinary mean better than ordinary?
Yes, it often implies superiority or exceptional quality.
Can ordinary be positive?
It can be, especially when stability or normalcy is valued.
Can something ordinary become extraordinary?
Yes, through significant improvement or change.
Is extraordinary always rare?
Generally, yes, as it implies uncommonness.
Can ordinary be a choice?
Yes, some people prefer an ordinary life for its simplicity.
Can ordinary be comforting?
Yes, especially when consistency or predictability is desired.
Does extraordinary require effort?
Often, as it implies surpassing usual standards.
Does ordinary imply conformity?
It can, especially in the context of social norms.
Can the ordinary be appreciated?
Absolutely, especially when finding beauty in simplicity.
Can extraordinary be intimidating?
Sometimes, due to its deviation from the norm.
Can something be extraordinary to one person but ordinary to another?
Yes, perception of what's extraordinary can vary.
Is extraordinary relative?
Yes, what's extraordinary in one context may be ordinary in another.
Does ordinary mean the same as normal?
They are similar, but normal is more about conforming to a standard.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
