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normal

n. uncountable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈnɔɹməɫ// UK //nˈɔːməl// nor·mal Academic General-service Slang

n. the usual or expected state of things. You use this when talking about what is ordinary or average in a situation.

n. the standard, average, or expected state, amount, or level. Often used in prepositional phrases to describe a return to a previous stable condition.


SIMPLE

Life is finally getting back to normal after the long holiday.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor said that your blood pressure is well within the range of normal for your age.

COMPLEX

Economists are debating whether the current low interest rates represent a temporary dip or a new normal for the global market.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Latin normālis (“made according to a carpenter's square; later: according to a rule”), from nōrma (“carpenter's square”), of uncertain origin; doublet of normale. The earliest meaning of the word in English was "perpendicular; forming a right angle" like something normālis (“made according to a carpenter's square”), but by Late Latin normālis had also come to mean "according to a rule", from which modern English senses of the word derive: in the 1800s, as people began to quantitatively study things like height, weight and blood pressure, the usual or most common values came to be called "normal", and by extension values regarded as healthy or desirable came to be called "normal" regardless of their usuality.

Usage

Typically used as an uncountable noun, often following the preposition 'above', 'below', or 'back to'.

Pitfall

The things are back to the normal.Things are back to normal.When referring to the usual state of affairs, 'normal' is used as an uncountable noun without a definite article.

Idioms1 entry

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