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View synonyms for usual

usual

[ yoo-zhoo-uhl, yoozh-wuhl ]

adjective

  1. habitual or customary:

    her usual skill.

    Synonyms: accustomed

  2. commonly met with or observed in experience; ordinary:

    the usual January weather.

    Synonyms: regular, familiar, prevalent, prevailing, general

  3. commonplace; everyday:

    He says the usual things.

    Synonyms: predictable



noun

  1. something that is usual:

    He could expect only the usual.

usual

/ ˈjuːʒʊəl /

adjective

  1. of the most normal, frequent, or regular type; customary

    that's the usual sort of application to send



noun

  1. ordinary or commonplace events (esp in the phrase out of the usual )
  2. the usual informal.
    the usual the habitual or usual drink, meal, etc

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Derived Forms

  • ˈusualness, noun

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Other Words From

  • usu·al·ly adverb
  • usu·al·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of usual1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin ūsuālis, equivalent to Latin ūsu-, stem of ūsus “use” ( use (noun)) + -ālis -al 1; compare Old French usuel

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Word History and Origins

Origin of usual1

C14: from Late Latin ūsuālis ordinary, from Latin ūsus use

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. as usual, in the customary or usual manner:

    As usual, he forgot my birthday.

More idioms and phrases containing usual

see as usual ; business as usual .

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Synonym Study

Usual, customary, habitual refer to a settled and constant practice. Usual indicates something that is to be expected by reason of previous experience, which shows it to occur more often than not: There were the usual crowds at the celebration. Something that is customary is in accordance with prevailing usage or individual practice: It is customary to finish up with a bonfire. That which is habitual has become settled or constant as the result of habit on the part of the individual: The merchants wore habitual smiles throughout the season.

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Example Sentences

The judges who handle arraignments at criminal court in all five boroughs have a small fraction of their usual caseloads.

Larson, as usual, instills gravitas and agency in an otherwise underwritten character.

I know that one day in the near (ish) future, we will return to our usual hikes and bike rides.

But, under the hawkish eye of the media and through a heavily active social media presence, she carried on as usual.

The broader issue is also playing out without the usual toxicity.

We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.

As usual the dinner was recherché, for the Pandemonium chef enjoyed a world-wide reputation.

This habit and the fact that she cares more for color than for drawing are the usual criticisms of her pictures.

The lady in black, creeping behind them, looked a trifle paler and more jaded than usual.

Toward the close of it were the usual number of toasts in honour of Liszt, to which he responded in rather a bored sort of way.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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usu.usually