mediocre

adjective

me·​di·​o·​cre ˌmē-dē-ˈō-kər 

: of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so

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The Enduring Moderation of Mediocre

One of the things that is remarkable about mediocre is the extent to which it has retained its meaning over the course of more than four centuries of continual use. The word, when used as an adjective, has changed very little, if at all, in its meaning since it was used in a 1586 book titled The English Secretorie (our earliest known evidence): “Mediocre, a meane betwixt high and low, vehement and slender, too much and too little as we saye. . . .” The word comes to English via Middle French from the Latin word mediocris, meaning "of medium size, moderate, middling, commonplace," and perhaps originally "halfway to the top." The noun form of mediocre is mediocrity.

Synonyms

• common
• fair
• indifferent
• medium
• middling
• ordinary
• passable
• run-of-the-mill
• run-of-the-mine
• run-of-mine
• second-class
• second-rate
• so-so

Examples of mediocre in a Sentence

They sensed that mediocre students like Roosevelt really did possess a set of virtues that needed to be protected and cherished. —David Brooks, New York Times Book Review, 6 Nov. 2005

Of course, it could be that what Wesley has been through steeled his nerves and transformed him from a mediocre point guard into one of the fiercest shooters in the league with the game on the line. —Chad Millman, ESPN, 14 May 2001

In short, they'd have to build a first-rate health-care system out of the shantytown's mediocre one—a system that would administer those drugs reliably and keep the patients' spirits up, because the second-line drugs are weak and have unpleasant side effects, which a patient has to endure for as much as two years. —Tracy Kidder, New Yorker, 10 July 2000

The dinner was delicious, but the dessert was mediocre.

The carpenter did a mediocre job.

The critics dismissed him as a mediocre actor.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sam Darnold and the Vikings offense was mediocre until the late stages of the third quarter, and that was not the way to respond after the Lions lost to the Bills. —Steve Silverman, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

The Super Bowl window might be closed, but if the best the 49ers can do next season is mediocre, that might be more than enough in this division. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Dec. 2024

The offense, meanwhile, has gone from mediocre to bad. —Daniel Popper, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024

This move is a clear indication that Chicago is looking to win in 2025 rather than repeat the mediocre season from 2024. —Zach Pressnell, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin mediocris "of medium size, moderate, middling, commonplace," perhaps originally "halfway to the top," from medius "middle, central" + -ocris, adjective derivative from the base of Old Latin ocris "rugged mountain," going back to Indo-European *h₂oḱ-r-i- "point, peak, edge" (whence also Umbrian ukar, ocar "citadel," Middle Irish ochair "edge, border," Welsh ochr, Greek ókris "top, point, corner"), derivative of *h₂eḱ- "pointed" — more at mid entry 1, edge entry 1

Note: The base *h₂oḱ-r-i- forms a pair with *h₂eḱ-r- "sharp, pointed" (see acro-) and the two have been explained as part of an original "acrostatic" paradigm of a noun, with fixed stress on the root, o-vocalism in the direct cases and e-vocalism in the oblique cases, with Indo-European daughter languages generalizing one form or another. Note that Greek has both ókris, as above, and ákris "hilltop, mountain peak." Perhaps also belonging here is Sanskrit aśri- "corner, angle, edge" (see at acro-), where the vowel may be either *a or *o.

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mediocre

adjective

me·​di·​o·​cre ˌmēd-ē-ˈō-kər 

: of medium or low quality : ordinary

a mediocre performance