Ordinary and Special

Ordinary

Ordinary adjective - Of average to below average quality.
Usage example: the pizza at that restaurant is just ordinary—it's nothing to write home about

Special is an antonym for ordinary in topics: average, common.

Special

Special adjective - Being the one or ones of a class with no other members.

Ordinary is an antonym for special in topics: exceptional, distinguished, general.

Both words in one sentence

  • I Just Want to Be Special Like Nami, the word "ordinary" is her Berserk Button, but Momose doesn't want to have special powers - she just wants to not be so supremely uninteresting that nobody ever remembers her.
  • Heroic Bystander Instead, it's an ordinary person, with no special training, who happens to save a life through their own inner courage and resolve.
  • Event weapons (the ones which aren't simply alternate versions of normal weapons) are typically either effective but silly-looking ordinary weapons, toy versions of common weapons, or special-purpose weapons which are magical and/or elaborately improbably.
Cite this Source
Special and Ordinary. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/ordinary/special
Ordinary & Special. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/ordinary/special>.
Special or Ordinary. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/ordinary/special.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "ordinary" and "special" have occurred on timeline