English Reference
noun

mediocrity

n.
US /ˌmidiˈɑkɹəti/ UK /mˌiːdɪˈɒkɹɪti/ medi·ocrity UK spelling mediocrities

  1. 01 C2 Proficiency Formal

    a person who does not have much talent or who has not achieved anything special.

    a person of mediocre abilities, achievements, or social standing.

    Simple

    He was a mediocrity who only got the job because of his father.

    In context

    History has largely forgotten the various mediocrities who occupied the office during that period of political stagnation.

    nobodynonentity
    geniusluminary
  2. 02 C2 Proficiency ArchaicLiterary

    a middle state between two extremes.

    the quality of being intermediate between two extremes; a middle state or mean.

    Simple

    He sought a life of happy mediocrity, avoiding both great wealth and poverty.

    In context

    The philosopher praised the golden mediocrity of a life lived far from the volatile passions of the court.

    middle groundmean

From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin mediocritās
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated