ordinarily correct

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "ordinarily correct" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is generally accurate or acceptable under normal circumstances. Example: "While the answer may not be perfect, it is ordinarily correct for most practical purposes."

✓ Grammatically correct

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

"I'm ordinarily pretty correct in what I say.

The New York Times

Following this advice ordinarily leads to a correct diagnosis.

The New York Times

"People in this culture are able to hide behind comedy and satire to say things we can't ordinarily say, because it's all too politically correct," he explained.

Huffington Post

By correcting light damage on clothing that ordinarily wouldn't make it to sales racks – think jackets with ripped linings, pants with holes and stained shirts – the Renewal Workshop hopes to head off the inevitable garbage dump.

The Guardian

In a paper called "Money Creation in the Modern Economy", co-authored by three economists from the Bank's Monetary Analysis Directorate, they stated outright that most common assumptions of how banking works are simply wrong, and that the kind of populist, heterodox positions more ordinarily associated with groups such as Occupy Wall Street are correct.

The Guardian - Opinion

The rightmost ROC point again represents the overall correct and false positive identification (ID) rates that are ordinarily used to compute the diagnosticity ratio.

Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

Put over simply, the process involves feeding the cells the correct nutrients to produce muscle and fat, as would ordinarily happen were they grown inside an animal's body.

TechCrunch

Some of the issues we covered in Katine, such as whether the correct number of desks arrived at schools, or the delays building the school at Kadinya, would ordinarily never be reported in the media, internationally or locally, despite Soroti having a good number of local radio stations and a vernacular newspaper.

The Guardian

Ordinarily, hazcam pictures are very wide-angle in view and therefore distorted, but image processing software has been used to correct the geometry.

BBC

Spontaneous recovery ordinarily occurs.

Encyclopedia Britannica

They numbered ordinarily 300.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When precision is paramount, consider alternatives like "always correct" or "invariably accurate" if the subject matter permits.

Common error

Avoid using "ordinarily correct" when describing something that needs to be 100% accurate. The phrase implies a degree of uncertainty or potential for error, so it's not appropriate for situations demanding absolute correctness.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "ordinarily correct" functions as an adverbial modifier followed by an adjective. The adverb "ordinarily" modifies the adjective "correct", indicating a qualified or conditional state of accuracy. As shown by Ludwig AI, the phrase suggests something is accurate under normal circumstances.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

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Less common in

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Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "ordinarily correct" is used to describe something that is generally accurate under typical circumstances, while implicitly acknowledging that there may be exceptions. As Ludwig AI indicates, the phrase is grammatically correct but relatively uncommon. Alternatives like "usually accurate" or "generally correct" can be used depending on the context. It is best practice to use "ordinarily correct" when conveying qualified affirmation. Avoid using the phrase when absolute accuracy is required. While grammatically sound, its infrequent usage means that alternative phrasing could make your writing more common and clear.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

usually accurate

Replaces "ordinarily" with "usually", emphasizing the typical accuracy rather than the conditional aspect.

generally correct

Uses "generally" instead of "ordinarily", highlighting the overall correctness in most cases.

typically correct

Substitutes "ordinarily" with "typically", focusing on what is normal or expected to be correct.

normally accurate

Replaces "ordinarily" with "normally", stressing accuracy under standard conditions.

commonly accurate

Uses "commonly" instead of "ordinarily", suggesting that accuracy is a frequent occurrence.

in most cases correct

Expands the phrase to explicitly state that correctness applies in the majority of situations.

under normal circumstances correct

Replaces "ordinarily" with a more descriptive phrase, specifying the conditions for correctness.

correct under usual conditions

Similar to the previous alternative, but uses slightly different wording to convey the same meaning.

accurate on average

Shifts the focus to statistical accuracy, implying correctness over a range of instances.

right more often than not

Expresses the idea of correctness as being more frequent than incorrectness.

FAQs

How can I use "ordinarily correct" in a sentence?

You can use "ordinarily correct" to describe something that is generally accurate or acceptable under normal circumstances, but might not be in every situation. For example: "While the answer may not be perfect, it is ordinarily correct for most practical purposes."

What are some alternatives to "ordinarily correct"?

You can use alternatives like "usually accurate", "generally correct", or "typically correct" depending on the context.

Is "ordinarily correct" the same as "always correct"?

No, "ordinarily correct" implies that something is true or accurate under normal or typical circumstances, but not necessarily in every single case. "Always correct" means there are no exceptions.

When is it appropriate to use "ordinarily correct" instead of "correct"?

Use "ordinarily correct" when you want to acknowledge that there might be exceptions or limitations to the correctness of something. Using just "correct" implies absolute accuracy, which may not always be the case.