Extraordinary
adj.capable, resilienteveryday
What it means
Far outside the ordinary level in quality, difficulty, or achievement.
Reach for it when giving strong praise to something genuinely uncommon
The rescue required extraordinary courage, coordination, and patience.
Choose between these
7- playful
beyond belief
when astonishment is intentionally exaggerated
not when The phrase challenges credibility and is unsuitable for factual reporting.
- playful
when spectacular success suits exuberant speech
not when The word is promotional and easily outruns the available evidence.
- everyday
unusual
when rarity is the only claim the evidence supports
not when Unusual merely marks rarity; it cannot stand in for praise.
- professional
when a person or result stands well above a standard
not when Exceptional depends on comparison and can also mean merely excluded from a rule.
- professional
when a quality deserves special notice
not when Remarkable is measured and can describe unusual facts that are not excellent.
- formal
when immense output, ability, or effort is meant
not when Prodigious emphasizes quantity or power, not the full range of extraordinary qualities.
- literary
singular
when uniqueness or distinctive merit deserves elegance
not when Singular is unfamiliar to some readers and can mean simply odd.
Said against
4- ordinary
- commonplace
- unremarkable
- average
It naturally appears in
3- extraordinary achievement
Reopening the canal by hand was an extraordinary achievement.
- extraordinary effort
Extraordinary effort kept every resident supplied during the closure.
- truly extraordinary
The choir's recovery after the flood was truly extraordinary.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English adjective, adjective sense meaning very unusual or remarkable opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.