Can the word “mundane” be used in positive sense
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Mundane means ordinary.The word is mostly used in negative sense.Can the word "mundane" be used in positive sense too?
Like"Mr.K is not a wasteful man.He leads a very mundane life."Another example can be"Miss ABC does not show off in front of others.She is a mundane girl."In the examples I am referring mundane to be "ordinary" and in positive sense.Can the examples be used? or is it wrong technically?
word-usage
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
add a comment |
Mundane means ordinary.The word is mostly used in negative sense.Can the word "mundane" be used in positive sense too?
Like"Mr.K is not a wasteful man.He leads a very mundane life."Another example can be"Miss ABC does not show off in front of others.She is a mundane girl."In the examples I am referring mundane to be "ordinary" and in positive sense.Can the examples be used? or is it wrong technically?
word-usage
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
3
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
3
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday
add a comment |
Mundane means ordinary.The word is mostly used in negative sense.Can the word "mundane" be used in positive sense too?
Like"Mr.K is not a wasteful man.He leads a very mundane life."Another example can be"Miss ABC does not show off in front of others.She is a mundane girl."In the examples I am referring mundane to be "ordinary" and in positive sense.Can the examples be used? or is it wrong technically?
word-usage
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
Mundane means ordinary.The word is mostly used in negative sense.Can the word "mundane" be used in positive sense too?
Like"Mr.K is not a wasteful man.He leads a very mundane life."Another example can be"Miss ABC does not show off in front of others.She is a mundane girl."In the examples I am referring mundane to be "ordinary" and in positive sense.Can the examples be used? or is it wrong technically?
word-usage
word-usage
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
asked May 25 '16 at 4:32
Srija MukhopadhyaySrija Mukhopadhyay
111
111
3
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
3
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday
add a comment |
3
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
3
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday
3
3
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
3
3
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
It isn't technically wrong, but it's almost certain to be misunderstood by the listener. Consider instead:
frugal (the opposite of wasteful)- unassuming
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
add a comment |
'Mundane' with the meaning of 'dull and ordinary' (as opposed to 'worldly') is almost always used negatively (or at best neutrally). A positive sense can only be accomplished by a context that somehow makes both dull and ordinary positive qualities.
Replacement by either 'dull' or 'ordinary' might be a good idea.
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
add a comment |
Technically, in the denotative (dictionary) meaning, it is not correct, but it may be misunderstood. It has a bad connotation, as in: boring, uneventful.
Here are words with better connotations.
- Peaceful
- Modest
- Practical
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
add a comment |
Mark Strand's poem, The Continuous Life, introduces mundane as something deeply positive, in that the parents' devotion to the ordinary things of life is what gives freedom to children, both in the immediate and in the future.
The poem begins like this...
What of the neighborhood homes awash
In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,
Watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender,
Signs that the irregular pleasures of moving
From day to day, of being adrift on the swell of duty,
Have run their course? O parents, confess
To your little ones the night is a long way off
And your taste for the mundane grows; tell them
Your worship of household chores has barely begun;
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
add a comment |
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4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
It isn't technically wrong, but it's almost certain to be misunderstood by the listener. Consider instead:
frugal (the opposite of wasteful)- unassuming
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
add a comment |
It isn't technically wrong, but it's almost certain to be misunderstood by the listener. Consider instead:
frugal (the opposite of wasteful)- unassuming
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
add a comment |
It isn't technically wrong, but it's almost certain to be misunderstood by the listener. Consider instead:
frugal (the opposite of wasteful)- unassuming
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
It isn't technically wrong, but it's almost certain to be misunderstood by the listener. Consider instead:
frugal (the opposite of wasteful)- unassuming
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
answered May 25 '16 at 4:42
MalvolioMalvolio
24.6k85189
24.6k85189
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
add a comment |
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
so the examples written by me are correct?
– Srija Mukhopadhyay
May 25 '16 at 4:53
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
If I read the examples with "mundane", I would not be sure of the writer's intention. @Malvolio's examples are excellent.
– Law29
May 25 '16 at 6:10
add a comment |
'Mundane' with the meaning of 'dull and ordinary' (as opposed to 'worldly') is almost always used negatively (or at best neutrally). A positive sense can only be accomplished by a context that somehow makes both dull and ordinary positive qualities.
Replacement by either 'dull' or 'ordinary' might be a good idea.
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
add a comment |
'Mundane' with the meaning of 'dull and ordinary' (as opposed to 'worldly') is almost always used negatively (or at best neutrally). A positive sense can only be accomplished by a context that somehow makes both dull and ordinary positive qualities.
Replacement by either 'dull' or 'ordinary' might be a good idea.
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
add a comment |
'Mundane' with the meaning of 'dull and ordinary' (as opposed to 'worldly') is almost always used negatively (or at best neutrally). A positive sense can only be accomplished by a context that somehow makes both dull and ordinary positive qualities.
Replacement by either 'dull' or 'ordinary' might be a good idea.
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
'Mundane' with the meaning of 'dull and ordinary' (as opposed to 'worldly') is almost always used negatively (or at best neutrally). A positive sense can only be accomplished by a context that somehow makes both dull and ordinary positive qualities.
Replacement by either 'dull' or 'ordinary' might be a good idea.
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
edited Aug 8 '16 at 6:07
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:52
Keep these mindKeep these mind
2,05122026
2,05122026
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
add a comment |
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
You are citing another answer to the same question as your source. This isn't kosher.
– ab2
Aug 7 '16 at 23:00
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
@ab2 OK. Removed.
– Keep these mind
Aug 8 '16 at 6:08
add a comment |
Technically, in the denotative (dictionary) meaning, it is not correct, but it may be misunderstood. It has a bad connotation, as in: boring, uneventful.
Here are words with better connotations.
- Peaceful
- Modest
- Practical
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
add a comment |
Technically, in the denotative (dictionary) meaning, it is not correct, but it may be misunderstood. It has a bad connotation, as in: boring, uneventful.
Here are words with better connotations.
- Peaceful
- Modest
- Practical
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
add a comment |
Technically, in the denotative (dictionary) meaning, it is not correct, but it may be misunderstood. It has a bad connotation, as in: boring, uneventful.
Here are words with better connotations.
- Peaceful
- Modest
- Practical
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
Technically, in the denotative (dictionary) meaning, it is not correct, but it may be misunderstood. It has a bad connotation, as in: boring, uneventful.
Here are words with better connotations.
- Peaceful
- Modest
- Practical
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
answered Aug 7 '16 at 18:38
Skylar BlackSkylar Black
12
12
add a comment |
add a comment |
Mark Strand's poem, The Continuous Life, introduces mundane as something deeply positive, in that the parents' devotion to the ordinary things of life is what gives freedom to children, both in the immediate and in the future.
The poem begins like this...
What of the neighborhood homes awash
In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,
Watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender,
Signs that the irregular pleasures of moving
From day to day, of being adrift on the swell of duty,
Have run their course? O parents, confess
To your little ones the night is a long way off
And your taste for the mundane grows; tell them
Your worship of household chores has barely begun;
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
add a comment |
Mark Strand's poem, The Continuous Life, introduces mundane as something deeply positive, in that the parents' devotion to the ordinary things of life is what gives freedom to children, both in the immediate and in the future.
The poem begins like this...
What of the neighborhood homes awash
In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,
Watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender,
Signs that the irregular pleasures of moving
From day to day, of being adrift on the swell of duty,
Have run their course? O parents, confess
To your little ones the night is a long way off
And your taste for the mundane grows; tell them
Your worship of household chores has barely begun;
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
add a comment |
Mark Strand's poem, The Continuous Life, introduces mundane as something deeply positive, in that the parents' devotion to the ordinary things of life is what gives freedom to children, both in the immediate and in the future.
The poem begins like this...
What of the neighborhood homes awash
In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,
Watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender,
Signs that the irregular pleasures of moving
From day to day, of being adrift on the swell of duty,
Have run their course? O parents, confess
To your little ones the night is a long way off
And your taste for the mundane grows; tell them
Your worship of household chores has barely begun;
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
Mark Strand's poem, The Continuous Life, introduces mundane as something deeply positive, in that the parents' devotion to the ordinary things of life is what gives freedom to children, both in the immediate and in the future.
The poem begins like this...
What of the neighborhood homes awash
In a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,
Watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender,
Signs that the irregular pleasures of moving
From day to day, of being adrift on the swell of duty,
Have run their course? O parents, confess
To your little ones the night is a long way off
And your taste for the mundane grows; tell them
Your worship of household chores has barely begun;
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
answered Oct 4 '17 at 22:26
Global CharmGlobal Charm
2,8552413
2,8552413
add a comment |
add a comment |
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3
In a word, yes. When the commonplace, everyday or ordinary (but not the banal) is desirable, what's mundane is a positive virtue. You're right that 'mundane' is often used with negative connotations, but it is not exclusively or necessarily so. Whether or not the word is understood negatively will depend on the context (connotations), and it will be up to the writer to make clear what sense is intended.
– JEL
May 25 '16 at 4:44
3
Sure: "After the police activity, its nice to return to a mundane commute"
– user662852
May 25 '16 at 15:55
"Aliens!" "Ghosts!!" "International conspiracy!!!" "No, there is a perfectly mundane explanation." (That sounds like a positive to me, but others may disagree, if they believe in aliens, for example.)
– James Random
yesterday