extraordinary

[ ik-strawr-dn-er-ee, ek-struh-awr- ]

adjective

1. beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established:

   extraordinary costs.

   Synonyms: inordinate

   Antonyms: usual, common

2. exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable:

   extraordinary speed;

   an extraordinary man.

   Synonyms: signal, special, phenomenal, rare, singular, uncommon

   Antonyms: usual, common

3. (of an official, employee, etc.) outside of or additional to the ordinary staff; having a special, often temporary task or responsibility:

   minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

extraordinary

/ ɪkˈstrɔːdənrɪ; -dənərɪ /

adjective

1. very unusual, remarkable, or surprising
2. not in an established manner, course, or order
3. employed for particular events or purposes
4. usually postpositive (of an official, etc) additional or subordinate to the usual one

   a minister extraordinary

Derived Forms

• exˈtraordinariness, noun
• exˈtraordinarily, adverb

Other Words From

• ex·traor·di·nar·i·ly [ik-strawr-dn-, air, -, uh, -lee, ek-str, uh, -awr-], adverb
• ex·traordi·nari·ness noun
• unex·traordi·nary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of extraordinary¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English extraordinarie, from Latin extrāordinārius “beyond ordinary,” equivalent to extra- + ordinary

Word History and Origins

Origin of extraordinary¹

C15: from Latin extraordinārius beyond what is usual; see ordinary

Example Sentences

It’s the morning after the Dodgers won the World Series, and Schur — a baseball enthusiast with undying loyalty to the Boston Red Sox — is detailing the team’s extraordinary comeback in the fifth inning of Game 5 against the New York Yankees as a curious Ted Danson listens intently.

From Los Angeles Times

“All year we have celebrated fiction that inhabits ideas rather than declaiming on issues, not finding answers but changing the question of what we wanted to explore. Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Kaleidoscope” is a far preferable and more colorful description of Aitken’s ambition here, which takes stunning, impressionistic and often dreamlike images of ordinary people moving through extraordinary California landscapes, and stirs them into seemingly improvised songs as well as familiar minimalist masterpieces by composers like Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley.

From Los Angeles Times

In their statement, Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West described their father as having had a "long and extraordinary life on and off the stage".

From BBC

Trump scores a decisive victory over Harris, completing an extraordinary political comeback.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amazing
• bizarre
• curious
• exceptional
• fantastic
• incredible
• marvelous
• odd
• outstanding
• particular
• phenomenal
• rare
• remarkable
• singular
• special
• strange
• surprising
• terrific
• uncommon
• unheard-of