Ordinary is not always bad: mundane chores and commonplace inventions keep life running. But when writing or speech is ordinary in a tired way, critics reach for sharper words: banal, trite, hackneyed, prosaic, pedestrian. Several of these words began as pictures: a worn coin, a hired horse, a printer’s plate, a flat plate, a walker on foot.
Key idea
Ordinary: mundane (everyday), commonplace (not unusual), conventional (the usual way). Worn out by use: banal, trite, hackneyed (adjectives); cliché (an overused phrase), platitude (a flat remark offered as wisdom) (nouns). Dull and unimaginative: prosaic, pedestrian.
The ten words
Common mistake
pedestrian as an adjective means dull, not "on foot." mundane means ordinary, not bad.
| word | part of speech | what is ordinary about it |
|---|---|---|
| mundane | adj | everyday (not necessarily bad) |
| commonplace | adj | found everywhere |
| conventional | adj | the usual, agreed-upon way |
| banal, trite, hackneyed | adj | worn out by overuse |
| cliché, platitude | noun | an overused phrase; a flat remark posing as wisdom |
| prosaic, pedestrian | adj | dull, unimaginative, never takes flight |
Many of these words began as pictures: trite (rubbed smooth, like a worn coin), hackneyed (a hired horse), cliché (a printer’s stamp), platitude (flatness), pedestrian (on foot). Remembering the picture helps you remember the meaning.