adjective
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everyday, ordinary, or banal
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relating to the world or worldly matters
Synonym Usage
See earthly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mundane
First recorded in 1425–75; from Latin mundānus, equivalent to mund(us) “world” + -ānus -ane; replacing late Middle English mondeyne, from Middle French mondain, from Latin, as above
Explanation
An ordinary, unexciting thing can be called mundane: "Superman hid his heroic feats by posing as his mundane alter ego, Clark Kent." Mundane, from the Latin word mundus, "world," originally referred to things on earth. Such things were supposed to be uninteresting when compared to the delights of Heaven; hence the word's present meaning. Writing about reality TV shows, a Newsweek writer opined, "In reality bizarro-world, the mundane is presented as the spectacular" — in other words, people's everyday routines are now televised as entertainment.
Vocabulary lists containing mundane
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The city stores have retained their upper end airs and graces, but the suburban stores leave a lot to be desired – they're mundane, they lack excitement and there's definitely no glitz," she said.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The wave of apparent cyberattacks affected at least a half-dozen more countries in Europe, spurring investigations across the continent and illustrating how even mundane physical infrastructure is susceptible to hacking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Since ending his show, “WTF With Marc Maron,” the comic has been rediscovering the mundane routines that make up a life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
This is a mundane outcome of economic policy — almost comically so.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
And though, over the years, his departures had become mundane, his father would always stand on the platform until the moment the train was out of sight.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
