Mediocrity Meaning
/miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.
nounA person with mediocre abilities or achievements.
Sentence Examples
Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.
Sami was repulsed by mediocrity.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The coach refused to accept ____ and pushed the team to train harder.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He was determined to avoid a life of ____ and worked incredibly hard to achieve his ambitious goals.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"England captain Harry Kane lifted the mediocrity of an attritional first half on a slow surface when he scored his 33rd goal for his country, a superbly guided diving header from Luke Shaw's cross seven minutes before the interval."
— 2021 March 28, Phil McNulty, “Albania 0-2 England”, in BBC Sport:
"Sundrie other Gent[lemen] reſt beholden to this hundred, for their dvvellings, vvho, in an enuiable mediocritie of fortune, do happilie poſſeſſe themſelues, and communicate their ſufficient means to the ſeruice of their prince, the good of their neighbours, and the bettering of their ovvn eſtate: […]"
— 1609, Richard Carew, “The Second Booke”, in The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLC, folio 117, verso:
"In adversity I wish for prosperity, and in prosperity I am afraid of adversity. What mediocrity may be found?"
— 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The coach refused to accept ____ and pushed the team to train harder.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He was determined to avoid a life of ____ and worked incredibly hard to achieve his ambitious goals.