a most intelligent middle-aged mediocrity—Oscar Wilde
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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.
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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
We were disappointed by the mediocrity of the wine.
He thought that he was a brilliant artist himself and that all his fellow painters were just mediocrities.
Recent Examples on the WebThis begs the question: Why has such pervasive mediocrity become the norm?—Forrester, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024 There have been flashes of something better than mediocrity here and there, but for the most part, it’s been a long, hard slog for the team — and its fans.—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 14 Oct. 2024 The preseason hype obviously centered on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the consensus No. 1 pick who is looking to upset decades of quarterback mediocrity in Chicago.—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2024 African scientific institutions need to reject mediocrity, agrees pediatrician Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, who worked at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN) for 13 years and is now at the University of Minnesota.—Byjon Cohen, science.org, 9 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mediocrity
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mediocrity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English mediokerte, mediocrite "moderation, medium size or amount," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French mediocrité "intermediate state," borrowed from Latin mediocritāt-, mediocritās "moderateness of size or amount, intermediate character, limited ability," from mediocris "of medium size, moderate, mediocre" + -itāt-, -itās-ity
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