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 storylines range from the mundane - dealing with GP appointment waiting times - to the absurd.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
France and Britain housed small communities from former colonies—an immigration pattern so mundane that 1960s France let citizens of former West African colonies fly into Paris without a passport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Many of the mundane, routine tasks, like debugging code, can be done by AI.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Tiny bits of glitter are embedded in our tiles, a bright reminder of Scott and the beauty and joy he brought to even the most mundane tasks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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
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.
