The difference between Great and Ordinary

When used as nouns, great means a person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim, whereas ordinary means a devotional manual.

When used as adjectives, great means relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i.&nbsp, whereas ordinary means having regular jurisdiction.


Great is also interjection with the meaning: expression of gladness and content about something.

Great is also adverb with the meaning: very well.

check bellow for the other definitions of Great and Ordinary

  1. Great as an adjective:

    Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i. e. having many parts or members) or duration (i. e. relatively long); very big.

    Examples:

    "A great storm is approaching our shores."

    "a great assembly"

    "a great wait"

  2. Great as an adjective:

    Of larger size or more importance than others of its kind.

    Examples:

    "the great auk"

  3. Great as an adjective (qualifying nouns of family relationship):

    Involving more generations than the word qualified implies (from 1510s). [see Derived terms]

    Examples:

    "'great-grandfather"

  4. Great as an adjective (obsolete, postpositive, followed by 'with'):

    Pregnant; large with young; full of.

    Examples:

    "'great with child"

    "'great with hope"

  5. Great as an adjective (obsolete, except with 'friend' and similar words such as 'mate','buddy'):

    Intimate; familiar.

  6. Great as an adjective:

    Extreme or more than usual.

    Examples:

    "'great worry"

  7. Great as an adjective:

    Of significant importance or consequence; important.

    Examples:

    "a great decision"

  8. Great as an adjective (applied to actions, thoughts and feelings):

    Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; superior; commanding; heroic; illustrious; eminent.

    Examples:

    "a great deed"

    "a great nature"

    "a great history"

  9. Great as an adjective:

    Impressive or striking.

    Examples:

    "a great show of wealth"

  10. Great as an adjective:

    Much in use; favoured.

    Examples:

    "Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era."

  11. Great as an adjective (applied to persons):

    Endowed with extraordinary powers; of exceptional talents or achievements; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; remarkable; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.

    Examples:

    "a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer etc."

  12. Great as an adjective:

    Title referring to an important leader.

    Examples:

    "Alexander the Great'"

  13. Great as an adjective:

    Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.

    Examples:

    "What a great buffoon!"

    "He's not a great one for reading."

    "a great walker"

  14. Great as an adjective (often followed by 'at'):

    Skilful or adroit.

    Examples:

    "a great carpenter"

    "You are great at singing."

  15. Great as an adjective (informal):

    Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic (from 1848).

    Examples:

    "Dinner was great."

  16. Great as an adjective (informal, British):

    Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.

    Examples:

    "a dirty great smack in the face"

    "'Great Scott!"

  1. Great as a noun:

    A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

    Examples:

    "Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science."

  2. Great as a noun (music):

    The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.

  1. Great as an adverb:

    very well

    Examples:

    "Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened."

  1. Ordinary as an adjective (legal, of a judge):

    Having regular jurisdiction; now only used in certain phrases.

  2. Ordinary as an adjective:

    Being part of the natural order of things; normal, customary, routine.

    Examples:

    "On an ordinary day I wake up at nine o'clock, work for six hours, and then go to the gym."

  3. Ordinary as an adjective:

    Having no special characteristics or function; everyday, common, mundane; often deprecatory.

    Examples:

    "I live a very ordinary life most of the time, but every year I spend a week in Antarctica."

    "He looked so ordinary, I never thought he'd be capable of murder."

  4. Ordinary as an adjective (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, informal):

    Bad or undesirable.

  1. Ordinary as a noun (obsolete):

    A devotional manual.

  2. Ordinary as a noun (Christianity):

    A rule, or book of rules, prescribing the order of service, especially of Mass.

  3. Ordinary as a noun:

    A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.

  4. Ordinary as a noun (obsolete):

    A set portion of food, later as available for a fixed price at an inn or other eating establishment.

  5. Ordinary as a noun (archaic, _, or, _, historical):

    A place where such meals are served; a public tavern, inn.

  6. Ordinary as a noun (heraldry):

    One of the standard geometric designs placed across the center of a coat of arms, such as a pale or fess.

  7. Ordinary as a noun:

    An ordinary thing or person; the mass; the common run.

  8. Ordinary as a noun (historical):

    A penny-farthing bicycle.

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