The Meaning of Mundane: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of mundane? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word mundane, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word mundane mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language as well as other dictionaries like Collins English Dictionary and American Heritage, the word mundane is an adjective that means relating to or characteristic of the world, or practical, ordinary or commonplace. Something that is mundane might be considered dull. Then noun forms of mundane are mundaneness and mundanity, and the adverb form is mundanely. Many different things can be mundane, including mundane affairs, a mundane sphere, mundane astrology, mundane sounds, a mundane day, mundane concerns, a mundane reason, mundane science fiction, or other mundant things of life.  Things that are not mundane may exist in the spiritual world, or a physical reality that is separate from our own world. This can also refer to things that are extra-terrestrial, or things that are in the cosmos. The pronunciation of mundane is mən-ˈdān.

A number of different languages also contain words that mean mundane. You may notice that a couple of these words look and sound similar to the word mundane. These are called cognates, which are frequently formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of mundane is provided by Word Sense.

  •  Norwegian: verdslig‎
  •  Persian: دنیوی‎ (donyavi)
  •  Swedish: världslig‎
  •  Turkish: dünyevî‎
  •  Scottish Gaelic: saoghalta‎
  •  Estonian: maine‎
  •  Spanish: mundano‎
  •  Georgian: მიწიერი‎
  •  Czech: pozemský‎ (masc.)
  •  Hungarian: evilági‎, földi‎
  •  French: profane‎ (masc.) (f), mondain‎ (masc.), mondaine‎ (fem.)
  •  Finnish: maallinen‎
  •  German: weltlich‎
  •  Irish: domhanda‎
  •  Dutch: aards‎
  •  Greek: κοσμικός‎ (masc.), γήινος‎ (masc.)
  •  Russian: земно́й‎
  •  Portuguese: mundano‎

How can the word mundane be used in a sentence?

The word mundane (adj.)can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Below are many examples of mundane. 

The woman had an incredibly mundane day as she completed her ordinary course of events. This routine day included her quotidian commute, her job in her dull industry, and unexciting thing after unexciting thing. Not one hint of excitement, just the mundane things of life. She was told, “You need to do something enriching to engage the forefront of your mind. Find some new areas of interest.” She did not appreciate the implication.

The little boy wondered if even Superman who did heroic feats and was part of the elite group had moments of mundanity. His mother reminded him that a superhero was only for fictional uses in the science fiction fandom, and such persons who read comic books still had to do their repetitive daily activities and chores. 

Ben enjoyed making the orderly arrangement of his fridge and pantry. Others may have found this mundane, but various subcultures of obsessive cleaners and organizers found the same comfort in the mundane tasks that Ben did. Members of that group also enjoyed toilet adornments. 

Jill was tired of concerning herself with worldly matters and decided to make a pilgrimage across Asia so she could see the world. She built many fans on her trip when she posted a photo at a landmark. She engaged a particular group who also dreamed of leaving their mundane lives behind in lieu of traveling the world. 

Children are excellent at turning the mundane wonder of unimagined kind into fantasy worlds like a fairy palace or a train conductor.

This student thought that attending Princeton University would mean excitement every day, but he was met with the same Placid everyday scene of his dining hall and mundane classes day in and day out. His whole week felt of Monday’s, and he did not feel like a citizen of the world, but a library dweller.

As the woman looked out across the horizon mound in front of her, she decided to implement more excitement into her life. She was tired of having such a mundane, immense terrestrial practicality and wondered what would happen if she just let go. 

What are synonyms and antonyms of mundane?

There are many different words that a person may choose to use instead of the word mundane.  These words are known as synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another given word or phrase. Learning synonyms is a great way to avoid repeating yourself and a great way to expand your vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word mundane is provided by Thesaurus.

  •  day-to-day
  •  commonplace
  •  banal
  •  lowly
  •  worldly
  •  earthly
  •  humdrum
  •  normal
  •  ordinary
  •  routine
  •  workaday
  •  workday
  •  everyday
  •  Prosaic

There are also numerous different words that mean the opposite of the word mundane. These opposite words are known as antonyms, which are another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms for the word mundane is also provided by Thesaurus.

  •  unaccustomed
  •  outré
  •  unheard of
  •  extraordinary
  •  few
  •  noteworthy
  •  singular
  •  curious
  •  uncustomary
  •  rare
  •  fantastic
  •  abnormal
  •  infrequent
  •  unfamiliar
  •  scarce
  •  exceptional
  •  eccentric
  •  out of the way
  •  aberrant
  •  unusual
  •  novel
  •  unconventional
  •  exotic
  •  egregious
  •  sporadic
  •  unorthodox
  •  surprising
  •  odd
  •  prodigious
  •  uncommon
  •  remarkable
  •  outre
  •  irregular
  •  peculiar
  •  freakish
  •  arcane
  •  strange
  •  queer
  •  weird
  •  out of the ordinary
  •  unique
  •  seldom
  •  nondescript
  •  startling
  •  extreme
  •  anomalous
  •  bizarre
  •  original

What is the origin of the word mundane?

According to Etymonline, the word mundane has been used as an adjective since the mid-15th century (c15) as the Middle english mondeine. This comes from the Old French mondain, a 12th century word that stems from the Late Latin mundanus. This comes from the classical Latin mundus meaning universal or world. The etymology of this Latin term is unknown. This Latin word was used as a translation of the original sense of the Greek word kosmos in the Pythagorean sense of the physical universe. The Latin adjective mundus was also used to refer to women’s clothing or ornaments. The word has been used to mean dull or uninteresting since 1850. One can add suffixes to mundan like ly and ity to make the adverb mundanely and the noun mundanity. The mundane era is known as the chronology that began with the supposed epoch of the creation at 4004 BCE.

Overall, the word mundane (15c adj) means worldly or everyday. The word mundane has a negative connotation and columns from the Latin mundus world.

Sources: 

  1. mundane | Origin and meaning of mundane | Online Etymology Dictionary 
  2. MUNDANE Synonyms: 21 Synonyms & Antonyms for MUNDANE | Thesaurus 
  3. UNCOMMON Synonyms: 94 Synonyms & Antonyms for UNCOMMON | Thesaurus 
  4. mundane: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  5. Mundane | Definition of Mundane | Merriam-Webster