Commonly — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Common (adjective)

Common is a different word from Commonly. The synonyms below are for common, not for commonly.

1. often observed or encountered

   "horse ranches are a common sight in that part of the state"

   similar: common or garden (chiefly British), commonplace, everyday, familiar, frequent, garden-variety, household, ordinary, quotidian, routine, ubiquitous, usual, a dime a dozen
   related: normal, regular, standard, de rigueur, mandatory, obligatory, general, universal, ceaseless, constant, continual, continuous, incessant, unceasing, endemic, popular, prevailing, prevalent, rampant, perennial, recurrent, repeated
   opposite: extraordinary, infrequent, rare, seldom, uncommon, unfamiliar, unusual
   near: aberrant, abnormal, irregular, unnatural, intermittent, occasional, sporadic

2. being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events

   "just a common house cat but an extraordinary friend"

   similar: average, commonplace, cut-and-dried, everyday, garden-variety, normal, ordinary, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, standard-issue, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual, workaday, par for the course
   related: regular, typical, unextraordinary, familiar, homely, plain, plain-Jane, popular, vulgar, natural, customary, wonted, insignificant, trivial, unimportant, frequent, habitual, expected, predictable
   opposite: abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, odd, out-of-the-way, strange, unusual
   near: curious, funny, peculiar, quaint, queer, aberrant, anomalous, atypical, irregular, untypical, rare, recherché, scarce, fantastic, phenomenal, bizarre, far-out, Kafkaesque, outrageous, outré, wacky, way-out, weird, wild, eccentric, idiosyncratic, kooky, nonconformist, oddball, offbeat, unconventional, unorthodox, freak, freakish, conspicuous, notable, novel, outstanding, prominent, salient, signal, striking, unexampled, unprecedented, singular, unique, unparalleled

3. belonging or relating to the whole

   "facts of common knowledge"

   similar: across-the-board, blanket, broad-brush, general, generic, global, overall, universal
   related: all-embracing, broad, broad-gauge, broadscale, comprehensive, extensive, inclusionary, overarching, pervasive, sweeping, ubiquitous, wholesale, wide, widespread, aggregate, collective, complete, full, plenary, planetary, worldwide
   opposite: individual, particular
   near: component, constituent, cross-sectional, divisional, fragmentary, partial, local, localized, regional, sectional

4. belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank

   "a man of wealth and privilege who mingled without pretense with the common folk"

   similar: baseborn, humble, ignoble, inferior, low, low-life, lowborn, lower-class, lowly, lumpen, mean, plebeian, prole, proletarian, unwashed, vulgar
   related: bourgeois, middle-class, plain, poor, simple, working-class, déclassé, down-market, downscale
   opposite: aristocratic, blue-blooded, genteel, gentle, grand, great, high, highborn, highbred, lofty, noble, patrician, upper-class, upper-crust, wellborn
   near: eminent, illustrious, notable, prominent

5. held by or applicable to a majority of the people

   "a politician who works not for the special interests but for the common good"

   similar: general, majority, overall, popular, prevailing, public, received, ruling, vulgar
   related: unanimous, universal, pop, everyday, familiar, household, usual, well-known, contemporary, current, present, dominant, predominant, preponderant, characteristic, typical, pandemic, pervasive, prevalent, rife, widespread, communal, shared
   opposite: uncommon, unpopular
   near: rare, strange, unknown, unusual, distinctive, especial, idiosyncratic, peculiar, special, unique, individual, separate, singular, nonpublic, personal, private

6. used or done by a number of people as a group

   "used a common bathroom while at the campground"

   similar: collaborative, collective, combined, communal, concerted, conjoint, conjunct, cooperative, joint, multiple, mutual, pooled, public, shared, united
   related: bilateral, consensual, reciprocal, symbiotic, synergic, synergistic, two-way, mass, popular, general, generic, universal
   opposite: exclusive, individual, one-man, one-sided, one-way, single, sole, solitary, unilateral
   near: personal, private, independent, separate, several, esoteric, particular, special, specialized

7. of average to below average quality

   "has a common singing voice that's good enough for performing at those venues"

   similar: fair, indifferent, mediocre, medium, middling, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine, second-class, second-rate, so-so
   related: acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, decent, OK, reasonable, satisfactory, sufficient, sufficing, tolerable, moderate, modest, presentable, respectable, minimal, unexceptional, fine, good, nice
   near: A1, capital, choice, classic, distinguished, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fabulous, fantastic, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, marvelous, matchless, maximum, nifty, number one, optimal, optimum, outstanding, par excellence, peerless, preeminent, prime, sensational, special, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supreme, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wanting

8. of low quality

   "furniture of common workmanship that did not justify the high prices"

   similar: bad, bargain-basement, bum, cheap, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, crappy (slang), cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, poor, rotten, rubbishy, schlock, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, terrible, trashy, trumpery, wretched
   related: useless, valueless, worthless, indifferent, lackluster, second-class, brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank, tawdry, seedy, shabby, tacky, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham, supercheap, ultracheap
   opposite: excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, good, high-grade, superior, top-notch
   near: elegant, handsome, tasteful, handcrafted, polished, refined

9. lacking in refinement or good taste

   "embarrassed by the common manners of his new in-laws"

   similar: coarse, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, illiberal (archaic), incult, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, roughneck, rude, rugged, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar
   related: boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly, clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish, inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless, countrified, provincial, rustic, unsophisticated, graceless, inelegant, tacky, animallike, barbaric, barbarous, uncivilized, mannerless, unmannered, unmannerly
   opposite: civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred
   near: aristocratic, courtly, patrician, elegant, graceful, restrained, considerate, gracious, sensitive, thoughtful, citified, sophisticated, urbane