mediocrity

/miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/

//miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mediocrity" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mediocrity” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,827. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,827
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mediocrity · mediocrity · English

mediocrity · rank #24,827 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,827
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McKinney

Nearest frequency peer: McKinney (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mediocrity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mediocrity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mediocrity
PropertyValue
Headwordmediocrity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/
Letters10
Frequency rank#24,827
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mediocrity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mediocritylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “McKinney” (#24,826), “McIntosh” (#24,825), “midwestern” (#24,829). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mediocrity” is #24,827. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around mediocrity (IPA /miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,827 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for mediocrity, with forms such as "emdiocrity", "mdeiocrity", and "meddiocrity". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity. The correct English form is mediocrity, spelled M-E-D-I-O-C-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.
  2. 2
    A person with mediocre abilities or achievements.
  3. 3
    The quality of being intermediate between two extremes; a mean.
  4. 4
    A middle course of action; moderation, balance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mediocrity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Flexibility is good, but a tolerance for mediocrity carried far enough impairs operational capacity.
  2. England captain Harry Kane lifted the mediocrity of an attritional first half on a slow surface when he scored his 33rd goal for his country, a superbly guided diving header from Luke Shaw's cross seven minutes before the interval.

Etymology

From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity.

This word in other languages

mediocridad(Español)médiocrité(Français)Mittelmaß(Deutsch)mediocridade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emdiocrity
  • mdeiocrity
  • meddiocrity
  • medicority
  • medioccrity
  • mediocirty
  • mediocritty
  • mediocrityy
  • mediocriyt
  • mediocrrity
  • mediocrtiy
  • mediorcity
  • medoicrity
  • meidocrity
  • mmediocrity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mediocrity - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emdiocrity2mdeiocrity2meddiocrity1medicority2medioccrity1mediocirty2mediocritty1mediocrityy1
Edit distance from "mediocrity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mediocrity"?
"mediocrity" is spelled M-E-D-I-O-C-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/.
What does "mediocrity" mean?
As a noun, "mediocrity" means: The condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.
What are common misspellings of "mediocrity"?
Common misspellings include "emdiocrity", "mdeiocrity", "meddiocrity", "medicority", "medioccrity". The correct spelling is "mediocrity".
How do you pronounce "mediocrity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mediocrity" is /miː.dɪˈɒk.ɹɪ.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mediocrity"?
From Middle French médiocrité, from Latin mediocritās, from mediocris; by surface analysis, mediocre + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mediocrity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

midwestern#24,829mouthpiece#24,836neutralize#24,842overpriced#24,851

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

inhalation15 variantsreadership15 variantsrelinquish15 variantsseparatist15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list