1
as in normality
the quality or state of being mediocre
She's a perfectionist who refuses to settle for mediocrity.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
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
Everything is coated in a garlic butter salt that masks the mediocrity of the nuts.
—
Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Apr. 2026
Barring a miracle this will be four straight years in the mediocrity that is play-in purgatory.
—Greg Cote
april 6, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Even amid current frustrations, there have been too many success stories to sweep the accomplishments aside, even amid the current hamster wheel of mediocrity.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026
Cubs fans, meanwhile, are left wondering how their team couldn’t sweep either the Washington Nationals or the Los Angeles Angels on the first homestand and had to settle for mediocrity.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mediocrity
Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Apr. 2026
Barring a miracle this will be four straight years in the mediocrity that is play-in purgatory.
—Greg Cote
april 6, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Even amid current frustrations, there have been too many success stories to sweep the accomplishments aside, even amid the current hamster wheel of mediocrity.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026
Cubs fans, meanwhile, are left wondering how their team couldn’t sweep either the Washington Nationals or the Los Angeles Angels on the first homestand and had to settle for mediocrity.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mediocrity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mediocrity
Noun
-
Guthrie did not mention the situation with her mother’s abduction, but indicated her game show duties will be another step toward normality.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
Two weeks into the shaky, uncertain ceasefire, a form of normality has returned to the streets of Tehran.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Does that lead to a kind of obscurity?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
-
Chambliss routinely produced explosive, clutch plays, overcoming his less-than-ideal size (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) and emerging from a relative obscurity in ways that captured fans' imagination.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
The ethical acceptability of working with animal remains does not depend solely on whether the animal is already dead.—
Sam Zeveloff,
STAT,
9 May 2026
-
Comment sections, therefore, are also important fields in which the acceptability of certain types of speech is tested and negotiated.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
Chrysanthemums contain natural compounds that repel a range of insects, which is part of why their extracts show up in commercial bug sprays.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
-
Pollinators love its bright blue flowers, and planting borage can help increase the activity of beneficial insects near your zucchini plants, too.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 May 2026
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
Cite this Entry
“Mediocrity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mediocrity. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
