MEDIOCRE Synonyms: 152 Similar and Opposite Words

mediocre

adjective

ˌmē-dē-ˈō-kər

Definition of mediocre

as in decent

of average to below average quality your grades are mediocre and barely acceptable

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in poor

of low quality mediocre carvings in a pseudo-African style that are sold to tourists

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mediocre On paper, the Brewers will pose a significantly tougher challenge than the Chicago Cubs’ mediocre staff. — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026 The main downside is mediocre image quality due to limited color coverage and modest brightness, which largely limits it to lower-impact tasks like working with office documents and viewing web pages and short videos. — Tony Hoffman, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026 With mercurial, mediocre Baylor leading 13-6 to start the fourth quarter, CU responded by rushing the ball on six of its first seven plays to open the stanza. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2026 Get safety play right, and a mediocre defense suddenly looks like Mensa members in cleats. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mediocre

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mediocre

Adjective

The activists who once demanded radical change begin worrying about their children’s safety, their schools, and whether the neighborhood is a decent place to grow up.

— Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
Each tier receives different benefits, but even the lowester level (Green) still gets a decent amount of perks.

— Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of decent

Adjective

Disease that has spread to those organs is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.

— Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
They were frustrated with teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools, including overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.

— James Cirrone , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of poor

Adjective

Why not, then, return to 2016 spending amounts which seemed satisfactory at the time?

— Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
Harriot quickly found a convenient formula for how many were arranged in a square pyramid based on the number in the bottom row and was able to present Raleigh with a satisfactory solution.

— Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of satisfactory

Adjective

The bat lay on its back, soggy and wretched, here in the waning hours of this terrible day.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
An ugly fight between teammates during training camp was a terrible start to a season that officially began with a loss against North Carolina, a game in Dublin that TCU essentially sold, against the desires of Dykes.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of terrible

Adjective

The team with the middling offense, a quarterback trying to jump-start his career and a division full of much louder contenders.

— Rick Maese, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
Before 2022, the onetime prime-time pioneer cycled through a succession of announcers and received increasingly middling games on the NFL schedule, which led to stagnating ratings and frustrated ad buyers.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of middling

Adjective

The experience highlighted a central problem in warship procurement; selecting an existing design does not necessarily guarantee faster or cheaper construction if the customer substantially changes its architecture.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
The commercial space industry looked forward to abundant, cheap launches.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheap

Adjective

When a family is one ordinary bill from the edge, its backup plan is sleeping in the car.

— Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
The Ohio State University In ordinary air, oxygen molecules settle onto the sensor surfaces and draw electrons away from the material, increasing its electrical resistance.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of ordinary

Adjective

The idea is to sound like an inferior buck in the brush, one that is roaming around a mature deer’s space and getting on his nerves.

— Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026
Only 272 yards, at home, against a UCLA team that unquestionably has inferior talent?

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of inferior

Browse Nearby Words

medieval

mediocre

mediocrities

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Mediocre.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mediocre. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of mediocre

adjective

Example Sentences

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