1 mediocre | Definition of mediocre
Logo
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

mediocre

adjective
me·​di·​o·​cre | \ ˌmē-dē-ˈō-kər How to pronounce mediocre (audio) \

Definition of mediocre

: of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so
Synonyms The Enduring Moderation of Mediocre Example Sentences Learn More about mediocre

Keep scrolling for more

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.

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.
See More

Recent Examples on the Web

 Louisiana Tech is projected third, hoping an experienced but mediocre offense will help offset heavy losses from a strong defense. — Greg Luca, ExpressNews.com, "North Texas will be measuring stick for UTSA in Conference USA," 17 Aug. 2019 Yet in each of those states, a majority of the counties received low or mediocre resilience rankings. — Thomas Frank, Scientific American, "Southern U.S. Lags North on Disaster Resilience," 12 Aug. 2019 The Hawkeyes have the veteran presence at QB to win what should be a muddled and mediocre West Division. — Jeff Potrykus, Detroit Free Press, "2019 Big Ten football predictions: Can Michigan finally beat Ohio State?," 17 July 2019 As Steve Wasserman, editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review from 1996 to 2005, wrote in Columbia Journalism Review in 2007: Book coverage is not only meager but shockingly mediocre. — Christian Lorentzen, Harper's magazine, "Like This or Die," 10 Apr. 2019 After security, the options are very limited and mediocre quality, while the food court is very clean, light and has a very nice restaurant. — WSJ, "New York LaGuardia Airport: Insiders’ Tips for Flights to and From LGA," 14 Nov. 2018 In totality, the assumption is the Bengals will have a sub-mediocre season. — Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals not bothered by low expectations from NFL media this season," 24 July 2019 As this gap has grown wider, America’s standing in international literacy rankings, already mediocre, has fallen. — Natalie Wexler, The Atlantic, "Elementary Education Has Gone Terribly Wrong," 9 July 2019 One is to simply live with a mediocre education system. — Jimmie Don Aycock, star-telegram, "Time for a reality check on public education," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mediocre.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of mediocre

circa 1586, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for mediocre

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for mediocre

mediocre

adjective
How to pronounce mediocre (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of mediocre

: not very good

See the full definition for mediocre in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mediocre

adjective
me·​di·​o·​cre | \ ˌmē-dē-ˈō-kər How to pronounce mediocre (audio) \

Kids Definition of mediocre

: not very good That restaurant is just mediocre.

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on mediocre

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with mediocre

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mediocre

Spanish Central: Translation of mediocre

Nglish: Translation of mediocre for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of mediocre for Arabic Speakers

WORD OF THE DAY

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!