mediocre
ordinary, average
TRANSLATION
mediocre = mittelmäßig, unbedeutend mediocre performance – mittelmäßige Leistung (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX mediocre: approximately 17,400,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
With nine days to go until the World Cup, the mood in Germany has become decidedly grimmer this morning following the country's MEDIOCRE performance last night against Japan.
(The Guardian Unlimited)
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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from MEDIOCRE minds.
- Albert Einstein
(The Guardian Unlimited)
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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from MEDIOCRE minds.
- Albert Einstein
Did you
know?
mediocre
adjective
- moderate to inferior in quality, ordinary
mediocrity (noun) – the state of being mediocre
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.)
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WORD ORIGIN
Etymology: From the French mediocre, which was borrowed from the Latin mediocris, meaning of middling height or state (originally "halfway up a mountain"). From medius, middle + ocris, meaning "jagged mountain". The noun mediocrity is first recorded in 1531, from Middle French médiocrité and from Latiin mediocrit?s, "a middling condition or state."
The sense of mediocre quality, average, is first recorded in 1588. (Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology).
While retaining its original definition of average or ordinary, usage of the word mediocre has changed over time to reflect a more negative tone. The child who brings home a "C" on his report card (equivalent to the German 3 or 4) may no longer be an average student, but a mediocre one (meaning he won’t get accepted into Cambridge or Harvard).
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SYNONYMS
average, common, inferior, intermediate, medium, moderate, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, second rate, so-so, standard, undistinguished, unexceptional, uninspired, vanilla
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
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ANTONYMS
above average, excellent, exceptional
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"His boss told him that his performance was mediocre. That means he can forget a bonus for this year."
adjective
- moderate to inferior in quality, ordinary
mediocrity (noun) – the state of being mediocre
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Etymology: From the French mediocre, which was borrowed from the Latin mediocris, meaning of middling height or state (originally "halfway up a mountain"). From medius, middle + ocris, meaning "jagged mountain". The noun mediocrity is first recorded in 1531, from Middle French médiocrité and from Latiin mediocrit?s, "a middling condition or state."
The sense of mediocre quality, average, is first recorded in 1588. (Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology).
While retaining its original definition of average or ordinary, usage of the word mediocre has changed over time to reflect a more negative tone. The child who brings home a "C" on his report card (equivalent to the German 3 or 4) may no longer be an average student, but a mediocre one (meaning he won’t get accepted into Cambridge or Harvard).
---
SYNONYMS
average, common, inferior, intermediate, medium, moderate, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, second rate, so-so, standard, undistinguished, unexceptional, uninspired, vanilla
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
ANTONYMS
above average, excellent, exceptional
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"His boss told him that his performance was mediocre. That means he can forget a bonus for this year."
