mediocre
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.not very good or special; just average in a way that is disappointing.
adj.of only moderate quality; not very good or impressive. Usually carries a pejorative nuance suggesting a failure to reach a higher standard.
Simple“The food at the new restaurant was mediocre, so we probably won't go back.”
In context“Despite the massive marketing budget, the film received mediocre reviews from critics who found the plot predictable and the acting uninspired.”
Antonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who does not have any special skills or success.
n.a person of low or unremarkable significance, talent, or achievement.
Simple“He was a mediocre among giants, struggling to keep up with his talented peers.”
In context“The essay argues that the era was defined not by its great leaders, but by the rise of the mediocres who filled the administrative ranks.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a person in history who was between the rich upper class and the poor workers.
n.a member of a socioeconomic class situated between the aristocracy and the peasantry.
Simple“In that society, a mediocre had more rights than a farmer but fewer than a lord.”
In context“The historian examined the legal status of the mediocres in sixteenth-century social hierarchies.”
Synonymsmiddle class person
“But the design has always had real shortcomings—the most noticeable and serious being its mediocre battery life.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.