| / English Dictionary |
EXTRAORDINARY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of an official) serving an unusual or special function in addition to those of the regular officials
Example:
an ambassador extraordinary
Classified under:
Similar:
unusual (not usual or common or ordinary)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Far more than usual or expected
Example:
it was an over-the-top experience
Synonyms:
extraordinary; over-the-top; sinful
Classified under:
Similar:
immoderate (beyond reasonable limits)
Derivation:
extraordinariness (the quality of being extraordinary and not commonly encountered)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
Example:
an extraordinary session of the legislature
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
wonderworking (performing or able to perform wonders or miracles)
special (for a special service or occasion)
some (remarkable)
remarkable; singular (unusual or striking)
rare; uncommon (marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or extreme of its kind)
pyrotechnic (suggestive of fireworks)
preternatural; uncanny (surpassing the ordinary or normal)
one; right ((informal) very; used informally as an intensifier)
great (remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect)
awful; frightful; terrible; tremendous (extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact)
phenomenal (exceedingly or unbelievably great)
fantastic; grand; howling; marvellous; marvelous; rattling; terrific; tremendous; wonderful; wondrous (extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers)
extraordinaire (extraordinary in a particular capacity)
exceeding; exceptional; olympian; prodigious; surpassing (far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree)
bonzer (remarkable or wonderful)
Also:
impressive (making a strong or vivid impression)
incomparable; uncomparable (such that comparison is impossible; unsuitable for comparison or lacking features that can be compared)
unusual (not usual or common or ordinary)
uncommon (not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind)
superior (of high or superior quality or performance)
Attribute:
mundaneness; mundanity; ordinariness (the quality of being commonplace and ordinary)
Antonym:
ordinary (not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree)
Derivation:
extraordinariness (the quality of being extraordinary and not commonly encountered)
Context examples:
This particular specimen I obtained under very extraordinary circumstances in the Ubangi country.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then, my dear Isabella, it is the most extraordinary sort of thing in the world, for in general every thing does give you cold.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Marianne Dashwood was born to an extraordinary fate.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
And indeed it was no wonder, for that name was never mentioned unless it were in connection with something brilliant and extraordinary.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Aylward's words were interrupted by an extraordinary hubbub which broke out that instant some little way down the street in the direction of the Priory.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
After extraordinary science findings and technological innovations, a NASA spacecraft launched in 2004 to study Mercury will impact the planet’s surface, most likely on April 30, after it runs out of propellant.
(NASA Spacecraft Achieves Unprecedented Success Studying Mercury, NASA)
The Cigar Galaxy (also known as M82) is famous for its extraordinary speed in making new stars, with stars being born 10 times faster than in the Milky Way.
(Galactic Wind Provides Clues to Evolution of Galaxies, NASA)
Iván Oteo explains why these objects are unexpected: The lifetime of dusty starbursts is thought to be relatively short, because they consume their gas at an extraordinary rate.
(Ancient Galaxy Megamergers, ESO)
Such were her propensities—her abilities were quite as extraordinary.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
He’s an extraordinary looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
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