MIDDLING Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

middling

adjective

ˈmid-liŋ

Definition of middling

as in average

being about midway between extremes of amount or size tired of the city but not particularly interested in small-town life, he moved to a suburb of middling size

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in decent

of average to below average quality was disappointed in the renowned historian's latest book, which is only middling

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 middling So far, season 11’s workplace dynamic and charismatic crew have elevated it above the low standard set by consecutive middling seasons across the Below Deck franchise. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026 That 2007 season was the best in KU history and came after decades of middling to bad football. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026 The series received a lukewarm reception from critics and earned middling ratings upon its release, in August, 2005. — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 Teams don’t have to be much better than middling to sneak into October and hope to ride the variance of tournament baseball to a title. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for middling

Recent Examples of Synonyms for middling

Adjective

The Lions recorded the third-slowest average time to pressure last season.

— Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Before this year,the national average price for gas on Labor Day had never been above $4 a gallon.

— Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of average

Adjective

This is part of WaterAid’s core approach that aims to change lives with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.

— Cleo Levin, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026
If both are out for Week 1, Roschon Johnson would slot into the mid-upper 30s, as a high-volume play not without decent risk.

— Jake Ciely, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of decent

Adjective

Singapore pays its political leaders high salaries to attract talent and deter graft, but the issue is thorny in the city-state, where the median wage worker made S$5,775 ($736) a month in 2025.

— Reuters, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
The announcement sparked backlash on social media in a country where high ministerial salaries are a sensitive topic, with the median monthly income at S$5,775 ($4,500) last year.

— John Liu, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of median

Adjective

The Jays will need many moments in the next month to turn this mediocre season into one worth remembering.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
The mediocre screen was an unpleasant surprise given that this thing advertised 100 percent sRGB gamut coverage when it was announced and on its product page for many weeks (the Internet Archive captures it here).

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of mediocre

Adjective

Not ready for prime time The video-generation technology rarely gets the content right on its first try, Sun said, adding that her team takes at least 10 attempts to create a satisfactory 15-second clip.

— Ling Wei, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
The ride quality in my tester was more than satisfactory; a good thing given the infamous Atlanta traffic.

— Jerry Perez, The Drive, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of satisfactory

Adjective

McCuin has only good speed and ordinary size, but his route savvy, ball skills and competitive toughness separate him on tape.

— Dane Brugler, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Europol does not keep statistics on nihilistic violent extremism because definitions of it differ and acts can fall into the category of ordinary criminality as well as terrorism.

— Lorne Cook, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of ordinary

Adjective

When white people get beaten up or injured, as gravely as by torture or as dramatically as in a car chase, the police appear to be unaware or indifferent, as do Black and white townspeople alike.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
For one thing, archetypes are by definition reductive, and there are plenty of people around here who are older, or parents, or retired, or indifferent to the bar scene, or all of the above.

— Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2026