Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of ordinary or undistinguished quality. synonym: average.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of moderate degree or quality; middling; indifferent; ordinary.
  • noun One of middling quality, talents, or merit.
  • noun A monk between twenty-four and forty years of age, who was excused from the office of the chantry and from reading the epistle and gospel, but performed his duty in choir, cloister, and refectory.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of a middle quality; of but a moderate or low degree of excellence; indifferent; ordinary.
  • noun rare A mediocre person; a mediocrity.
  • noun A young monk who was excused from performing a portion of a monk's duties.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Ordinary: not extraordinary; not special, exceptional, or great; of medium quality;

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective lacking exceptional quality or ability
  • adjective moderate to inferior in quality
  • adjective poor to middling in quality

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French médiocre, from Latin mediocris : medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots + ocris, a rugged mountain; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the late Middle English medioker, from the French médiocre, from the Middle French médiocre, from the Classical Latin mediocris ("in a middle state”, “of middle size”, “middling”, “moderate”, “ordinary"), from medius ("middle") + ocris ("rugged mountain"); compare mediocrely and mediocrity.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Pritchard sighed. 'At my age, I have to work harder and harder to have just a mediocre time, Sheriff.'"

    - 'The Dark Half', Stephen King.

    December 31, 2007

  • WIZARD

    Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a

    very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous

    creature that crawls on the earth -- or

    slinks through slimy seas has a brain!

    June 10, 2010