Extra-ordinary or extraordinary?
extra-ordinary is an adjective meaning “Alternative form of extraordinary”; extraordinary is an adjective meaning “Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual”. extra-ordinary is written with a hyphen and extraordinary as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between extra-ordinary and extraordinary?
| extra-ordinary | extraordinary | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun | adjective, noun |
| Meaning | Alternative form of extraordinary | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual Remarkably good Anything that goes beyond what is ordinary |
| Example | none recorded | Except in extraordinary circumstances, […] |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ɪkˈstɹɔːdɪn(ə)ɹi/ /ˌɛkstɹəˈɔːɹdɪn(ə)ɹi/ /ɪkˈstɹɔɹdɪnɛɹi/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 23 times per million words |
Sources: extra-ordinary and extraordinary in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of extra-ordinary and extraordinary
extra-ordinary
- 1
Alternative form of extraordinary
- 2
Alternative form of extraordinary
extraordinary
- 1
Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual
Except in extraordinary circumstances, […]
- 2
Anything that goes beyond what is ordinary
- 3
Remarkably good
an extraordinary poet
- 4
Special or supernumerary
the physician extraordinary in a royal household
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, extra-ordinary or extraordinary?
extra-ordinary is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; extraordinary 23 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search extra-ordinary vs extraordinary?
“extra-ordinary vs extraordinary” is searched about 390 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“extraordinary vs extra-ordinary”, “extra-ordinary or extraordinary”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.