mediocracy

American  

[mee-dee-ok-ruh-see] / ˌmi diˈɒk rə si /

noun

plural

mediocracies

1. government or rule by a mediocre person or group.

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Usage

Where does mediocracy come from? The first recorded use of mediocracy comes from an 1845 Whig Party resolution referring to the administration of President James K. Polk as a “reign of shuffling incompetency and mousing mediocracy” (the Whigs would have won Twitter, apparently). Mediocracy is a blend of mediocre and the Greek root -cracy, meaning “rule,” “government,” or “governing body” (as in democracy and aristocracy). Mediocre comes from the Latin mediocris, meaning “in a middle state” (literally “at middle height”).Just as an aristocracy is a government run by aristocrats, a mediocracy is a government of leaders considered mediocre—unexceptional or inferior. The defining feature of a mediocracy is that those in power lack the quality or skill that is normally expected of leaders. The term is most often used in political commentary to refer to governments considered incompetent or ineffective. It can also be applied to organizations outside of government, such as businesses, as in After the original leadership team was fired, standards were lowered across the board and this place turned into a mediocracy. Mediocracy isn’t only the negative label for unfavorable governments. It is similar to terms like kakistocracy (rule by the worst) and kleptocracy (rule by thieves).Mediocracy is rarely used. For that reason, it may be mistaken for the word mediocrity, which means “the quality or state of being mediocre.”

Etymology

Origin of mediocracy

Blend of mediocre and -cracy

Compare meaning

How does mediocracy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mediocracy vs. mediocrity

Example Sentences

Odenkirk plays Hank Devereaux, a college English professor who is also the chair of the department at an under-funded Pennsylvania college he describes as “mediocracy’s capital.”

From Seattle Times

Hall’s letter accuses the board of “embracing performance mediocracy, large salaries and other egregious compensation practices instead of developing an actionable plan to stem value destruction”

From Reuters

Not only does Smith believe that the entire country has come "ultra-sensitive," but he believes the nation has accepted mediocracy, and "no one really is striving to create the best-in-class standards for one another."

From Fox News

"There’s not an offensive issue, it’s been a defensive issue. The problem that I’m having with football today is, it’s been watered down, and guys are getting away with mediocracy. Kids don’t know how to tackle, they don’t know how to work, and the whole entire country has become ultra-sensitive."

From Fox News

Then there’s Kevin J. McGroarty, who died in 2014 “after battling a long fight with mediocracy,” and who noted in his apparently self-penned obituary that the church he was baptized in burned to the ground, his elementary school had been torn down, and his middle school converted into an apartment building.

From Slate