noun
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the state or quality of being mediocre
-
a mediocre person or thing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mediocrity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English mediocrite, from Middle French mediocrite, from Latin mediocritāt-, stem of mediocritās “middle state, moderation”; equivalent to mediocre + -ity
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How does mediocrity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The noun mediocrity means the quality of being average or ordinary. You can't be great at everything — in some areas, we all fall into mediocrity. Mediocrity, pronounced "me-dee-AH-crih-tee," has Latin parts that together literally mean "halfway up the mountain." You can see how it still applies — in climbing the mountain — or ladder — of success, mediocrity is in the middle, neither leading the pack nor sprawling on ground, giving up. Such of person of this middle-level of success can also be called a mediocrity. That's a second definition of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing mediocrity
A Word's-Eye View of Presidential Candidates in 2016: Campaign Announcements
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The Fire Next Time
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Neil Simon (1927 - 2018) Tribute List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They hobbled to a record of 81-81, the ultimate sign of mediocrity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Sample some new snacks: Summer barbecues are rife with potato-chip mediocrity.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Enough” is a good retort, though, for “Super Troopers 3” overall, except for the dispiriting promise before the closing credits that more mediocrity might be coming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Serena's mindset has always been to be the best and not settle for mediocrity," former world number one Lindsay Davenport, one of Williams' main rivals in the early 2000s, told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
But they were also politicians, self-serving and ambitious, often well-born mediocrities flying high above their general level of talent.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022
These mediocrities, drunk with their own self-importance, equate celebrity, power and wealth with wisdom.
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2021
Never before have so many mediocrities received such a long standing ovation.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 2, 2019
And Vargas Llosa has published so many novels — 18 in all — that the tours de force can get lost among the mediocrities.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2018
It’s why picking the right candidate for a job is so difficult and why, on more occasions than we may care to admit, utter mediocrities sometimes end up in positions of enormous responsibility.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
