MEDIOCRITY Synonyms: 137 Similar and Opposite Words

mediocrity

noun

Definition of mediocrity

as in normality

the quality or state of being mediocre She's a perfectionist who refuses to settle for mediocrity.

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Dissimilar Words

as in nothing

a person of little fame He surrounded himself with mediocrities to appear more notable by comparison.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 mediocrity Before Ruthie shows up, the younger Dangs are at peace with their own mediocrity. — Alison Herman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026 Both Jefferson Starship and Kansas were quite impressive, while Deep Purple never really rose above mediocrity due mostly to the deteriorating vocal abilities and stage presence of frontman Ian Gillan. — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2026 Across town in Miami, the Dolphins are in opposite shape, trying to climb out of a quarter-century’s mediocrity and all but starting over. — Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026 Those like him who refuse shortcuts, compromise and mediocrity are cultivating true excellence today. — Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mediocrity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mediocrity

Noun

The crimson hue that may have been visible at the height of the eclipse will gradually fade as the crescent of the lunar disk exposed to direct sunlight grows, and normality reasserts itself over the natural satellite.

— Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2026
By the time the world returned to relative normality, her priorities had shifted.

— Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of normality

Noun

While CinemaCon 2026 brought us exciting news about new films, it was also bogged down with status quo nothings about how Amazon MGM still hasn’t found a new James Bond.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
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.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026

Definition of nothing

Noun

But that is just one expression of its structural bias toward familiarity and averageness.

— Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Joe, who was selected because of his averageness, turns out to be the smartest person on Earth in the future and lands a job working for President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews).

— David Faris, TheWeek, 22 Apr. 2026

Definition of averageness

Noun

Tavares broke in before the age of social media, and in the relative obscurity of the Long Island market.

— Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Her enormous catalog is full of fascinating obscurities, like her fuzz bass experiment on Elvis Presley’s title song for his 1970 film Change of Habit.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of obscurity

Noun

Today, everyone from the Economist to the New York Times has heralded the coming psychedelics renaissance, as hallucinogens begin to gain greater cultural, medical and commercial acceptability.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 July 2026
The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans, public education campaigns and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public.

— Mike Stobbe, Fortune, 29 May 2026

Definition of acceptability

Noun

Someone briskly assessing workmanship or disparaging a social inferior?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
That comes to the Philippines in the form of war, as well as through the invocation, or establishment, of American-style modes of government and education that place Filipinos along this racial hierarchy, identifying them as these inferiors that need to be taught how to govern themselves.

— Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026

Definition of inferior

Noun

On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.

— Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026

Definition of badness

Browse Nearby Words

mediocrities

mediocrity

meditate

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Mediocrity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mediocrity. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of mediocrity

noun

Example Sentences

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