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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective common contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of common are familiar, ordinary, plain, popular, and vulgar. While all these words mean "generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual," common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

a common error
lacked common honesty
common manners

When would familiar be a good substitute for common?

The words familiar and common are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

In what contexts can ordinary take the place of common?

The meanings of ordinary and common largely overlap; however, ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day
a very ordinary sort of man

When is plain a more appropriate choice than common?

While in some cases nearly identical to common, plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

When might popular be a better fit than common?

Although the words popular and common have much in common, popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

How do vulgar and popular relate to one another, in the sense of common?

Vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of common Some of the most common uses in the survey were for communications, marketing and advertising, predictive analysis and customer service. Kate Rogers, CNBC, 24 June 2025 This article outlines the most common failure points, the architectural patterns that work and what enterprises need to prioritize when building AI that meets real business standards. Alan Nichol, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025 Tick bites are most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest, with much of the region considered high risk for Lyme disease. Brittney Melton, NPR, 24 June 2025 The most common presentation of early-stage appendix cancer is appendicitis, when the appendix becomes inflamed and infected. Kristen Fischer, Health, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for common
Recent Examples of Synonyms for common
Adjective
  • Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
    Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 18 June 2025
  • A lot can happen in 20-plus years: careers can rise and fall, empires can crumble under their own weight, cult fan favorites can give birth to money-minting franchises, a minor horror subgenre can suddenly become ubiquitous.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • This means that some particles will decay in the normal world while their counterparts in the mirror would not.
    Zack Savitsky, Wired News, 22 June 2025
  • On Tuesdays, theater tickets at Cinemark Century Folsom 7 cost $5.50, compared to the normal ticket price of $10.99.
    Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Both the head coach and general manager have two years remaining on their contracts with the Packers.
    Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 19 June 2025
  • Team president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka had previously said James will be keeping an eye on how the roster improves in the offseason.
    Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • Does the Trump administration really want to sink that low?
    Louis Balsamo, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2025
  • Al Bello/Getty Images Outside of the Giants' organization, expectations are low.
    Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • Her family’s collective journey informs how Ionescu conducts herself.
    Ben Pickman, New York Times, 17 June 2025
  • In a genuinely multipolar system, New Delhi would benefit less from the collective goods the United States supplies, such as protecting the sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean.
    ASHLEY J. TELLIS, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • JetBlue Airways flight 312 arrived from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport around 11:55 a.m. in what passengers described as an ordinary landing.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 13 June 2025
  • But then again … Look one more time at the last entry in the catalog of ordinary human stuff that the turtle’s shell is compared to: pottery.
    A.O. Scott, New York Times, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • In past decades, this stage was easy to spot: clashing colors, poor makeup attempts, and wardrobes inspired by favorite TV stars.
    Dia Gallo, Parents, 17 June 2025
  • Due to poor cell reception in the area, 911 calls kept dropping as witnesses scrambled to reach first responders.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • One of them, a graduate student named Hailey, who had the kind of vulgar beauty of fecundity, duly fell pregnant.
    Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
  • Dem rep's vulgar demand to ICE officers leads to calls to expel her from Congress MAJOR HEADLINES 'NEVER SEEN HER' – AOC, progressives ripped for ignoring 'Red Light district' as prostitution, filthy streets return.
    , FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Common.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/common. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

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