| 释义 |
mediocre
me·di·o·cre M0193900 (mē′dē-ō′kər)adj. Of ordinary or undistinguished quality. See Synonyms at average.
[French médiocre, from Latin mediocris : medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots + ocris, a rugged mountain; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]Word History: Belying the very meaning of the word, the adjective mediocre has a remarkable and unexpected etymology. Mediocre ultimately comes from Latin mediocris, which meant "middling, ordinary, unremarkable." The Latin word in turn is a compound based on a rather concrete metaphor—we often find that abstract words are rooted in vivid comparisons when we trace the history of words back till we hit bedrock. In this case, the bedrock is a Latin word for "mountain." Mediocris is a compound of the adjective medius, "half" or "in the middle," and ocris, "rugged mountain." Something that is mediocre is only midway up a mountain or rises up to only half a mountain's height, as it were—the thing goes just halfway to the highest point of excellence. The resemblance between the Latin word medius and English words like middle and midway is no accident. They are all ultimately descended from the Proto-Indo-European word *medhyo-, "middle."mediocre (ˌmiːdɪˈəʊkə; ˈmiːdɪˌəʊkə) adjoften derogatory average or ordinary in quality: a mediocre book. [C16: via French from Latin mediocris moderate, literally: halfway up the mountain, from medius middle + ocris stony mountain]me•di•o•cre (ˌmi diˈoʊ kər)
adj. of only ordinary or moderate quality; barely adequate. [1580–90; < Middle French < Latin mediocris in a middle state, literally, at middle height =medi(us) mid1 + Old Latin ocris rugged mountain] Thesaurus| Adj. | 1. | mediocre - moderate to inferior in quality; "they improved the quality from mediocre to above average"second-rateinferior - of low or inferior quality | | 2. | mediocre - lacking exceptional quality or ability; "a novel of average merit"; "only a fair performance of the sonata"; "in fair health"; "the caliber of the students has gone from mediocre to above average"; "the performance was middling at best"middling, average, fairordinary - not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree; "ordinary everyday objects"; "ordinary decency"; "an ordinary day"; "an ordinary wine" | | 3. | mediocre - poor to middling in quality; "there have been good and mediocre and bad artists"bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice" |
mediocreadjective second-rate, average, ordinary, indifferent, middling, pedestrian, inferior, commonplace, vanilla (slang), insignificant, so-so (informal), banal, tolerable, run-of-the-mill, passable, undistinguished, uninspired, bog-standard (Brit. & Irish slang), no great shakes (informal), half-pie (N.Z. informal), fair to middling (informal) His university record was mediocre.
excellent, extraordinary, superb, distinguished, superior, distinctive, unrivalled, incomparable, unsurpassed, unexcelledQuotations
"Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major it had been all three" [Joseph Heller Catch-22]mediocreadjective1. Being of no special quality or type:average, common, commonplace, cut-and-dried, formulaic, garden, garden-variety, indifferent, ordinary, plain, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, stock, undistinguished, unexceptional, unremarkable.2. Of low or lower quality:common, inferior, low-grade, low-quality, mean, second-class, second-rate, shabby, substandard.Translationsmediocre (miːdiˈoukə) adjective not very good or great; ordinary. a mediocre performance/effort. 平庸的, 普通的 平庸的，普普通通的 ˌmediˈocrity (-ˈo-) noun 平庸 平庸mediocre
Synonyms for mediocreadj second-rateSynonyms- second-rate
- average
- ordinary
- indifferent
- middling
- pedestrian
- inferior
- commonplace
- vanilla
- insignificant
- so-so
- banal
- tolerable
- run-of-the-mill
- passable
- undistinguished
- uninspired
- bog-standard
- no great shakes
- half-pie
- fair to middling
Antonyms- excellent
- extraordinary
- superb
- distinguished
- superior
- distinctive
- unrivalled
- incomparable
- unsurpassed
- unexcelled
Synonyms for mediocreadj being of no special quality or typeSynonyms- average
- common
- commonplace
- cut-and-dried
- formulaic
- garden
- garden-variety
- indifferent
- ordinary
- plain
- routine
- run-of-the-mill
- standard
- stock
- undistinguished
- unexceptional
- unremarkable
adj of low or lower qualitySynonyms- common
- inferior
- low-grade
- low-quality
- mean
- second-class
- second-rate
- shabby
- substandard
Synonyms for mediocreadj moderate to inferior in qualitySynonymsRelated Wordsadj lacking exceptional quality or abilitySynonymsRelated Wordsadj poor to middling in qualityRelated Words |