extraordinary

adjective

ex·​traor·​di·​nary ik-ˈstrȯr-də-ˌner-ē 

ˌek-strə-ˈȯr-

1

a

: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary

extraordinary powers

b

: exceptional to a very marked extent

extraordinary beauty

c

of a financial transaction : nonrecurring

2

: employed for or sent on a special function or service

an ambassador extraordinary

extraordinarily

ik-ˌstrȯr-də-ˈner-ə-lē 

ˌek-strə-ˌȯr-

adverb

extraordinariness

ik-ˈstrȯr-də-ˌner-ē-nəs 

ˌek-strə-ˈȯr-

noun

Did you know?

What is the difference between extraordinary and extra ordinary?

Prefixes can be tricky things, often carrying meanings that differ from what one might expect. Additionally, some prefixes are spelled like independent English words, yet may have meanings that are different from those words. Such is the case with the word extra and the prefix extra-.

The word extra is used as a noun, adjective, and an adverb. When used as a separate word, as in the sentence “It was an extra ordinary day,” “extra” is functioning as an adverb meaning “very.” An “extra ordinary day” is a day that is very ordinary. In contrast, the prefix extra- means “outside or beyond.” Attached to “ordinary,” in “It was an extraordinary day,” the meaning changes markedly, to “It was a day beyond ordinary.”

Synonyms

• aberrant
• aberrated
• abnormal
• anomalous
• atypical
• especial
• exceeding
• exceptional
• extraordinaire
• freak
• odd
• peculiar
• phenomenal
• preternatural
• rare
• singular
• uncommon
• uncustomary
• unique
• unusual
• unwonted

Examples of extraordinary in a Sentence

A polymer based on the elastic protein that enables fleas to perform their extraordinary jumping feats has been synthesized. The material … is, perhaps unsurprisingly, rubbery and highly resilient; indeed, some of its properties exceed those of a material used to make bouncy balls for the playground. —Rosamund Daw, Nature, 13 Oct. 2005

Jimi Hendrix is one of those extraordinary hubs of music where everybody lands at some point. Every musician passes through Hendrix International Airport eventually.  … He is the common denominator of every style of contemporary music. —John Mayer, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2004

Like the eighteenth-century Scots, whose similar borderland situation stimulated an extraordinary renaissance in letters, natural science, and social science, the Americans' ambivalent identities led them to the interstices of metropolitan thought where were found new views and new approaches to the old. —Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew, 2003

Books can even have merits that are owed to their lack of literary quality: Agatha Christie's whodunits display an extraordinary ingenuity in their plotting, but the beauty of the puzzle requires cardboard characters and total implausibility in motives and reasons. —Richard Jenkyns, New Republic, 28 Jan. 2002

The researchers made an extraordinary discovery.

The race is an extraordinary event.

Recent Examples on the Web

Surveillance footage captured fireballs hitting the ground with extraordinary speed. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

These extraordinary characterizations complicate love over mere pity. —Armond White, National Review, 11 Dec. 2024

The Dune universe, despite space travel and quite extraordinary technology, seems almost identical in both timelines, though some of the Houses have different power levels. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Paul McCartney’s Billboard achievements are nothing short of extraordinary. —Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English extraordinarie, from Latin extraordinarius, from extra ordinem out of course, from extra + ordinem, accusative of ordin-, ordo order

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing extraordinary

• extraordinary rendition

Kids Definition

extraordinary

adjective

ex·​traor·​di·​nary ik-ˈstrȯrd-ᵊn-ˌer-ē 

ˌek-strə-ˈȯrd-

: so unusual as to be remarkable

extraordinarily

ik-ˌstrȯrd-ᵊn-ˈer-ə-lē

ˌek-strə-ˌȯrd-

adverb

extraordinariness

ik-ˈstrȯrd-ᵊn-ˌer-ē-nəs

ˌek-strə-ˈȯrd-

noun

Legal Definition

extraordinary

adjective

ex·​tra·​or·​di·​nary ek-ˈstrȯr-də-ˌner-ē, ˌek-strə-ˈȯr- 

1

a

: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary

specifically : of, relating to, or having the nature of a proceeding or action not normally required by law or not prescribed for the regular administration of law

an extraordinary session of the legislature

granted extraordinary relief

compare ordinary

b

: of or relating to a financial transaction that is not expected to be repeated

an extraordinary charge against earnings

an extraordinary gain

2

: employed for or sent on a special function or service

an ambassador extraordinary