1
as in normality
the quality or state of being mediocre
She's a perfectionist who refuses to settle for mediocrity.
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2
as in nothing
a person of little fame
He surrounded himself with mediocrities to appear more notable by comparison.
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Recent Examples of mediocrity
His record of mediocrity speaks for itself.
—
Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
After a post-Kawhi Leonard purgatory that saw the club mired in mediocrity — and worse — the club now seems to have firmly established itself as a major team of the future.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
That left Miami, which at that time was one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises, searching for someone to help the team escape mediocrity.
—Miami Herald, 10 Dec. 2025
That’s also why there’s something especially disheartening about mediocrity on a grand scale, as with the glut of overproduced, overblown franchise films, which lack both personalized imagination and the more modest virtue of clear observation.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mediocrity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mediocrity
Noun
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In real life or onscreen, the most glorious wigs in 2025 were the ones that called attention to that falsity rather than trying to blend into normality.—
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Yet, though George, Charlotte, and Prince Louis are growing up in the royal fishbowl, the Prince and Princess of Wales also desire a modicum of privacy and normality for their three children.—
Noun
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When Dana, who, like Virginia, had been successful in writing pleasant but undistinguished nothings—in her case, songs for Billy Rose’s revues—decided to try taking on more serious music by studying with Boulanger, Virginia entered a deep downward spiral.—
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Why did her mom press so hard for the littlest of nothings?—
Noun
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This has empowered the external opposition, growing out of Iran’s large diaspora and pulling figures such as Pahlavi out of relative obscurity.—
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Other aldermen also emerged from relative obscurity as the council flexed muscles always institutionally available but rarely employed.—
Noun
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Homosexuality in China exists in a limbo between social acceptability and taboo.—
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This behavior often sat on the margins of social acceptability; commentators described the bathers as lewd and unruly, flaunting their bodies and heckling passersby.—
Noun
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This damages the trunk and leaves an ugly, elongated canker that invites insects and stresses the tree, leading to stunted growth, sparse foliage, and stem dieback.—
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The insect chews through the layer, and eventually the damage is akin to putting a permanent tourniquet on the tree.—
Noun
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As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both.—
Noun
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Some eager minion jumped the gun and published in the morning what was supposed to be the post-ceremony press release announcing the winners.—
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Miami should have purged the roster even more, shipping off starters for draft picks, but apparently none of the bids enticed Ross and his minions, who are the individuals really calling the shots now.—
Noun
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The ordinariness of their relationship made the moment feel even more special.—
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Robert’s ordinariness doesn’t change.—
Cite this Entry
“Mediocrity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mediocrity. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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