middling

adjective mid·dling \ ˈmid-liŋ , -lən \

|Updated on: 5 Jul 2018

Examples: middling in a Sentence

Definition of middling

1 : of middle, medium, or moderate size, degree, or quality

2 : mediocre, second-rate

3 : of, relating to, or being a middle class

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middling

adverb

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middlingly

play \-lē\ adverb

See middling defined for English-language learners

See middling defined for kids

Examples of middling in a Sentence

tired of the city but not particularly interested in small-town life, he moved to a suburb of middling size
was disappointed in the renowned historian's latest book, which is only middling

Recent Examples of middling from the Web

By all accounts, the New England Revolution didn’t bring their A-game to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, a sultry evening that pitted coach Brad Friedel’s club against middling D.C. United.

— owen pence, BostonGlobe.com, "Revolution hold off D.C. United," 1 July 2018
After graduating from Capistrano Valley High School with middling grades, Vardakostas headed to nearby Saddleback College.

— lauren smiley, WIRED, "The Mission to Build the Ultimate Burger Bot," 21 June 2018
Thus far, workers’ earnings have yet to break out from their middling pace.

— don lee, latimes.com, "Fed raises interest rates and predicts faster pace of future increases," 14 June 2018
He, of course, being Andrew Luck, the $140 million, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback and the biggest source of optimism – and concern – on this otherwise middling NFL roster.

— zak keefer, Indianapolis Star, "Colts 'not worried' about Andrew Luck: He’ll throw when he throws," 23 May 2018
Atlanta tore down a middling roster, trading assets such as Shelby Miller, Andrelton Simmons, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton and letting Ervin Santana walk in favor of younger prospects.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Might the closest model for the Marlins be inside their division?," 11 May 2018
Hereditary is a great scare-fest and a middling domestic saga, one that probably needed to be either 90 minutes long and brimming with terror, or three hours long and suffused with glacial, Bergman-esque dread.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "The Close-to-Home Horror of Hereditary," 7 June 2018
Brown was a five-star recruit who didn't get much of a chance to shine on a middling Ducks team.

— peter dawson, star-telegram, "NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Mavs pass on Mo Bamba, opt for Mizzou superstar instead," 6 June 2018
Such a trait means the ball gets to the hitter faster, giving them less time to react, and in Lowther's case making middling velocity look a lot faster in the batter's box.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Modern analytics paired with traditional scouting helped Orioles land lefty Zac Lowther in 2017 draft," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'middling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of middling

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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middling Synonyms

Synonyms

common, fair, indifferent, mediocre, medium, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, second-class, second-rate, so-so;

Near Antonyms

A1, capital, distinguished, excellent, exceptional, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, matchless, maximum, number one (also No. 1), optimal, optimum, outstanding, par excellence, peerless, preeminent, prime, sensational, special, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supreme, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch;

unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed;

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wanting;

moderate, modest;

presentable, respectable;

minimal, unexceptional;

middling

noun

Definition of middling

1 : any of various commodities of intermediate size, quality, or position

2 middlings plural in form but singular or plural in construction : a granular product of grain milling; especially : a wheat milling by-product used in animal feeds