mediocrity
/mi.dɪˈɑk.ɹɪ.ti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.12 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.
Uncountable
noun
The quality of being intermediate between two extremes; a mean.
Archaic; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Flexibility is good, but a tolerance for mediocrity carried far enough impairs operational capacity."
- "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."
- "populated with mediocrities"
- "surrounded by mediocrities"
- "Faith is not a sign of weakness or ignorance; on the contrary, those who have no faith or do not feel the need for it are mediocrities."
- "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: […]"
Etymology
From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: médiocrité, mediocritās, *h₂eḱ-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /mi.dɪˈɑk.ɹɪ.ti/
- British English: /miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/