Did you know?
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.
Did you know?
People interested in words always point out that mediocrity doesn't mean quite what its main root would indicate: Why doesn't it describe something that's right in the middle of the pack, exactly what you would expect? Instead the words mediocrity and mediocre always suggest disappointment. A mediocre play is one you wish you hadn't wasted an evening on, and the mediocre actor in it should probably find another profession. A person can even be called a mediocrity, though it isn't very nice and you'd never do it to his face.
Examples of mediocrity in a Sentence
Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 11 July 2025
This was hailed as a return to form for DC after years of mediocrity.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
In three of those playoff appearances, the Knicks advanced past the first round — a rare consistency for a franchise that spent decades mired in mediocrity.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 July 2025
The ranks of the leadership are staffed, in large measure, with satraps and mediocrities.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mediocrity
Cite this Entry
“Mediocrity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mediocrity. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mediocrity
noun
Share