Mediocre means disappointingly middle-of-the-road, neither good nor terrible. A mediocre film, mediocre results, distinctly mediocre.
It is a criticism precisely because it is not a strong one: mediocre says the thing was not bad enough to be interesting. It suits performances, meals and reports. Note mediocrity, which describes both the quality and, unkindly, a person who has it; and that the Latin behind it means halfway up a mountain, which is a considerably more vivid image than the word now carries.
1adjectivemediocreDisappointingly middle-of-the-road.
“The food was mediocre: nothing terrible, but nothing I'd order again.”
synonyms: middling, indifferent
mediocre is a quality of ordinariness.
Also accepted in games: average
Latin mediocris meant middling, and is thought to come from medius, middle, plus ocris, a rugged mountain — halfway up the hill. The image of stopping partway is exactly right.
Middle French
médiocre
French
médiocre
Middle English
medioker
English, today
mediocre
From the late Middle English medioker, from the French médiocre, from the Middle French médiocre, from the Classical Latin mediocris (“in a middle state”, “of middle size”, “middling”, “moderate”, “ordinary”); compare mediocrely and mediocrity.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA