extraordinary adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of extraordinary adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

extraordinary

adjective
 
/ɪkˈstrɔːdnri/
 
/ɪkˈstrɔːrdəneri/
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  1. unexpected, surprising or strange synonym incredible
    • What an extraordinary thing to say!
    • The president took the extraordinary step of apologizing publicly for his behaviour!
    • We are a normal family dealing with extraordinary circumstances.
    • it is extraordinary that… It's extraordinary that he managed to sleep through the party.
    • it is extraordinary how… It is extraordinary how little evidence supports this view.
    Extra Examples
    • What makes it so extraordinary is that the experts had all dismissed her theories as nonsense.
    • The discussion was about the treatment of extraordinary items in the company accounts.
    • It seems extraordinary that she could have got away with this for so long.
    • I find it extraordinary that anybody on a murder charge should be given bail.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • feel
    adverb
    • most
    • really
    • truly
    See full entry
  2. not normal or ordinary; greater or better than usual
    • an extraordinary achievement
    • She was a truly extraordinary woman.
    • They went to extraordinary lengths to explain their behaviour.
    • The film tells the extraordinary story of two people struggling to survive in the Arctic.
    • The response from the public has been quite extraordinary.
    compare ordinary
    Extra Examples
    • The portrait does not do justice to her extraordinary beauty.
    • The festival offers an extraordinary range of artistic events.
    • She must have been an extraordinary artist to work with.
    • I found an extraordinary number of errors in the document.
    • He did the work with extraordinary energy and good humour.
    • He used the extraordinary powers granted to him by Parliament to introduce economic reforms.
  3. [only before noun] (formal) (of a meeting, etc.) arranged for a special purpose and happening in addition to what normally or regularly happens
    • An extraordinary meeting was held to discuss the problem.
    • The ruling Socialist Party held an extraordinary congress in July, two months before the annual congress.
  4. (following nouns) (specialist) (of an official) employed for a special purpose in addition to the usual staff
    • an envoy extraordinary
  5. Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin extraordinarius, from extra ordinem ‘outside the normal course of events’.
See extraordinary in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee extraordinary in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
champion
noun
 
 
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