extraordinary Hear it!

extraordinary definition

extraor·di·nary (ek strôrd′'n er′ē, ik-; -strôr′də ner′ē; also eks′trə ôrd′'n er′ē, -ôr′də ner′ē)

adjective

  1. not according to the usual custom or regular plan an extraordinary session of Congress
  2. going far beyond the ordinary degree, measure, limit, etc.; very unusual; exceptional; remarkable
  3. outside the regular staff; sent on a special errand; having special authority or responsibility a minister extraordinary

Etymology: ME extraordinari < L extraordinarius < extra ordinem, out of the usual order < extra + acc. of ordo, order

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

extraordinary Synonyms

extraordinary

modif.

exceptional, remarkable, curious, amazing; see excellent, unusual 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

extraordinary Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • see: This moment of crisis saw something extraordinary taking space.

Modifying Another Word

  • quite: Quite extraordinary watches, at a very attractive price.

Infinitive complement

  • see: It was extraordinary to see the amount of stuff that had been landed since the first American landing.

Modifies a noun

  • rendition: On 8 December, I raised the issue of extraordinary rendition.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: To say that it is a form of trespass seems extraordinary.
extraordinary usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

extraordinary quotes

  Extraordinary how potent cheap music is.

-Coward, Sir Noe«  l Peirce

   Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace.

-Hubbard, Elbert Green

   One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

-Hubbard, Elbert Green

extraordinary quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"extraordinary." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/extraordinary>

APA Style

extraordinary. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/extraordinary

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