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
Derived 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.
But there’s a longer list of mundane purchases that has sparked a debate about their relative dumbness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Earning just over two dollars for an hour of video, her mundane recordings are invaluable for global tech companies teaching machines how to move like humans in the real world.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
The variety of goods is striking, ranging from the ostentatious - Lalique salt and pepper grinders priced at £2,618 - to the mundane, like Loctite super glue costing £3.50.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Absurdist comedy, the kind that was Letterman’s, his “Late Night” successor Conan O’Brien’s and Colbert’s specialty, is the very soul of free speech because it pushes honesty and truth past mundane notions of propriety.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
Later on, all the dead were treated in the same mundane way.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions 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.
