extraordinary
beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established: extraordinary costs.
exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable: extraordinary speed;an extraordinary man.
(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.
Origin of extraordinary
1Other words for extraordinary
Opposites for extraordinary
Other words from extraordinary
- ex·traor·di·nar·i·ly [ik-strawr-dn-air-uh-lee, ek-struh-awr-], /ɪkˌstrɔr dnˈɛər ə li, ˌɛk strəˌɔr-/, adverb
- ex·traor·di·nar·i·ness, noun
- un·ex·traor·di·nar·y, adjective
Words Nearby extraordinary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use extraordinary in a sentence
The Food That Built America, a new podcast from OZY and The History Channel, tells the extraordinary true stories behind some of your favorite foods and brands.
The Strange Origin of Corn Flakes: Listen to ‘The Food That Built America’ | Sean Braswell | February 11, 2021 | OzyThe thing that was so extraordinary about what happened in the pandemic is what happened in August and September.
Paying for College Can Be Overwhelming. Here's What You Need to Know to Find an Affordable Option | Sean Gregory | February 5, 2021 | TimeAs Henderson and Foege detail in their books, there were extraordinary challenges that often looked utterly insurmountable in the quest to eradicate smallpox.
Smallpox used to kill millions of people every year. Here’s how humans beat it. | Kelsey Piper | February 5, 2021 | VoxOn this front, outcomes from the Pfizer and Moderna trials are extraordinary.
The Food That Built America, a new podcast from OZY and the History Channel, tells the extraordinary true stories behind some of your favorite foods and brands.
Listen to ‘The Food That Built America,’ a New Podcast From OZY and the History Channel | Sean Braswell | February 4, 2021 | Ozy
This breach is an extraordinary emotional drag on the exhausted population.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive | Peter Schwartzstein | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd yet our country has redefined citizenship in some extraordinary ways since its inception.
The Progressive Case Against Birthright Citizenship | Keli Goff | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is an extraordinary recording that deserves to be much better known.
“It is extraordinary that in one week of contemporary art auctions almost $2 billion worth of art was sold,” he says.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty | Tim Teeman | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe history of horrors in the North Caucasus is so extraordinary and so long as to seem almost otherworldly.
Where Chechens Go to Escape Their Surreal Past—and Risky Present | Anna Nemtsova | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt this moment an extraordinary commotion began among the watches.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylThe fingers of all the clocks in the house were revolving with the most extraordinary rapidity--she was helpless.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettAn extraordinary eruption of mount Vesuvius commenced, which in ten days had advanced ten miles from its original source.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellWhy expect that extraordinary virtues should be in one person united, when one virtue makes a man extraordinary?
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouThe only thing that at all tended to shake this conviction, was the extraordinary poltroonery of our new captive.
British Dictionary definitions for extraordinary
/ (ɪkˈstrɔːdənrɪ, -dənərɪ) /
very unusual, remarkable, or surprising
not in an established manner, course, or order
employed for particular events or purposes
(usually postpositive) (of an official, etc) additional or subordinate to the usual one: a minister extraordinary
Origin of extraordinary
1Derived forms of extraordinary
- extraordinarily, adverb
- extraordinariness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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