mundane
🇺🇸 /məˈndeɪn/
📖 Definitions
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adjective
Lacking interest or excitement; dull and ordinary; commonplace.; Of or relating to this world or earth rather than a heavenly or spiritual realm; worldly, secular.; Relating to the world or universe as a whole; cosmic.
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noun
A person who is not involved in a particular specialized activity or community; an outsider or non-initiate.; In fantasy and science fiction contexts, a person who does not possess magical powers or supernatural abilities.
🔗 Details
Word forms
Comparative: more mundane
Superlative: most mundane
Collocations
mundane tasksmundane activitiesmundane concernsmundane existencemundane routinemundane world
Derivatives
mundanelymundanitymundaneness
Synonyms
ordinarycommonplacebanalprosaichumdrumtediousroutine
Antonyms
extraordinaryremarkableexceptionalexciting
Commonly confused
worldly
EN: 'Worldly' emphasizes material or secular concerns, while 'mundane' emphasizes dullness and lack of excitement; 'mundane' also has an archaic sense meaning 'of this world' closer to 'worldly'.
banal
EN: 'Banal' specifically implies overuse and lack of originality, while 'mundane' simply means ordinary and unremarkable without necessarily implying overuse.
Spelling tips
EN: Remember 'mundane' ends in '-ane' (from Latin 'mundanus'), not '-ain'. The noun form is 'mundanity', not 'mundaneness' in formal usage, though both exist.
💬 Examples
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She was tired of her mundane daily routine of commuting, working, and coming home.
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The monk sought to detach himself from all mundane concerns and focus solely on spiritual enlightenment.
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The philosopher pondered the mundane order and the laws governing the cosmos.
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The scientists used jargon that was incomprehensible to the mundanes in the audience.
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In the wizarding world, those without magical ability are referred to as mundanes.