mediocrity
/miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/
mediocrity means the condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard. It carries an Arena rating of 1681, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mediocrity ranks #1,199 of 42,749 for Qualifying, #2,967 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,123 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #7,455 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
mediocrity is pronounced /miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/.
Why “mediocrity” is a great word
The condition of being of only moderate or average quality, ability, or achievement, often carrying the sting of failing to become what one might have been. From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās ('a middle state, medium, moderation'), from mediocris ('middling, moderate'), literally 'halfway up the mountain' (from medius ('middle') + ocris ('rugged mountain')). The disparaging sense of 'middling quality' emerged in English by the late 16th century. Unlike adequacy, which suggests meeting a basic, sufficient standard, or excellence, which denotes the pinnacle, mediocrity is the haunting shadow of potential, the specific failure to ascend from the foothills. It is the manuscript abandoned at chapter seven, the lukewarm cup of tea, the career defined by its reliable, unremarkable safety. It is the quiet tragedy of the plateau, where the view is neither inspiring nor disastrous, but simply, eternally, enough.
Etymology
From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity.
noun
- The condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.e.g.“Flexibility is good, but a tolerance for mediocrity carried far enough impairs operational capacity.”
- A person with mediocre abilities or achievements.e.g.“populated with mediocrities”
- The quality of being intermediate between two extremes; a mean.
- A middle course of action; moderation, balance.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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