- 1unexpected, surprising, or strange synonym incredible It's extraordinary that he managed to sleep through the party. What an extraordinary thing to say! The president took the extraordinary step of apologizing publicly for his behavior!
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- 2not normal or ordinary; greater or better than usual an extraordinary achievement She was a truly extraordinary woman. They went to extraordinary lengths to explain their behavior. compare ordinary
- 3[only before noun] (formal) (of a meeting, etc.) arranged for a special purpose and happening in addition to what normally or regularly happens An extraordinary meeting was held to discuss the problem.
- 4(following nouns) (technology) (of an official) employed for a special purpose in addition to the usual staff an envoy extraordinary
NAmE//ɪkˌstrɔrdnˈɛrəli//
adverb He behaves extraordinarily for someone in his position. extraordinarily difficult She did extraordinarily well.See extraordinary in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: extraordinary