# ordinary vs ordinate

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### ordinary
*noun · IPA /ˈɔːdɪnəɹi/ · frequency rank #3,517*
A person with authority; authority, ordinance.

### ordinate
*noun · IPA /ˈɔː(ɹ)dɪnət/ · frequency rank #32,524*
The second of the two terms by which a point is referred to, in a system of fixed rectilinear coordinate (Cartesian coordinate) axes.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ordinary-vs-ordinate