ordinarily

or·di·na·ri·ly
O1R1D2I1N1A1R1I1L1Y4
UK/ɔːdɪˈnæɹɪli/US/ɔɹdɪˈnɛɹɪli/

adverb

In accordance with normal custom or routine; as a matter of established occurrence.

“The man was ordinarily dressed.”

Similar
conventionallycustomarilytraditionallycommonlymost of the timeroutinelynormallyusually
Less commonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adverbordinarily (not comparable)
  1. not comparableobsoleteIn accordance with normal custom or routine; as a matter of established occurrence.

    It is ordinarily seene how good intentions, being managed without moderation, thrust men into most vicious effects.

    1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 19, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC

    Synonyms: conventionally, customarily, traditionally

  2. not comparableUsually or as a general rule; commonly.

    Ordinarily I go to the match on a Saturday.

    1 more example

    I'm ordinarily supportive of free speech, but this dispay is obnoxious.

    1980 December 27, John Zeh, quoting Ron Rucker, “Cincy Activists Protest Store's Violent Sex Wares”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 23, page 3
  3. not comparableIn the usual manner; unexceptionally.

    The man was ordinarily dressed.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn accordance with normal custom or routine; as a matter of established occurrence.

Similar
conventionallycustomarilytraditionally
Similar
commonlymost of the timeroutinely

More synonyms by meaning

adverbunder normal conditions

Similar
normallyusuallyunremarkablycommonly
Also see
commonlycustomarilygenerallymore often than notnormallyroutinelytypicallyunexceptionallyunremarkablyusually

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From ordinary + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian обикновено, както обикновено
  • обикновено (obiknoveno)usually or as a general rule
  • както обикновено (kakto obiknoveno)in the usual manner
Catalan ordinàriament, ordinàriament
  • ordinàriamentusually or as a general rule
  • ordinàriamentin the usual manner
Dutch gewoon
  • gewoonusually or as a general rule
Esperanto kutime
  • kutimeusually or as a general rule
French d'ordinaire, ordinairement
  • d'ordinaireusually or as a general rule
  • ordinairementusually or as a general rule
Latvian parasti, normāli
  • parastiusually or as a general rule
  • normāliusually or as a general rule
Portuguese ordinariamente, ordinariamente
  • ordinariamenteusually or as a general rule
  • ordinariamentein the usual manner
Spanish ordinariamente, de ordinario
  • ordinariamenteusually or as a general rule
  • de ordinariousually or as a general rule
Swedish vanligen
  • vanligenusually or as a general rule
Cite this entry
APA

ordinarily. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ordinarily

MLA

“ordinarily.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ordinarily. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ordinarily,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ordinarily.

Source: ordinarily on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.