familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.
a familiar melody
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
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
Adjective They've had the ordinary problems associated with starting a new business. My wife thought our guide was strange, but he seemed perfectly ordinary to me. The meal was ordinary and uninspired.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Tributes to the queen's life have poured in, from world leaders to rock stars to ordinary people — along with some criticism of the monarchy. Andrew Meldrum, ajc, 9 Sep. 2022 At any rate, banning politicians doesn’t stop ordinary people from talking on the platform about their favorite candidates.WIRED, 8 Sep. 2022 But here, in a state court in Wisconsin, was one of the first tests of the post-truth era of how the court system and ordinary Americans on a jury would hold a conspiracy theorist accountable under defamation law. Amanda J. Crawford, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 Today there exist dozens of agencies not really under the president’s control, making executive decisions that affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of ordinary Americans. William Mcgurn, WSJ, 15 Aug. 2022 That remarkable demonstration of myopia was followed by a slate of Republican lawmakers who insisted that if Trump was not safe from investigation, neither were ordinary Americans. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2022 Al-Zawhiri and bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaida. Matthew Lee, Nomaan Merchant And Aamer Madhani, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Aug. 2022 Al-Zawhiri and bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaida. Matthew Lee, Norman Merchant, Orlando Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2022 In their roles as consumers, investors and members of the workforce, ordinary Americans have the sense that the country is at an economic inflection point, but without a clear picture of what happens next, nor how to prepare. Martha C. White, CNN, 22 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English ordinarie, from Latin ordinarius, from ordin-, ordo order
Noun
Middle English ordinarie, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin ordinarius, from Latin ordinarius, adjective