as in obscurities
a person of little fame
He surrounded himself with mediocrities to appear more notable by comparison.
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Recent Examples of mediocrities
Congress’s lower chamber has always contained its share of mediocrities.
—
Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
These two 6-6 mediocrities are battling for first place in the AFC North.
—Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 5 Dec. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
This past week both teams looked like nothing more than overpriced mediocrities at a time when all the reinforcements were supposed to have turned things around for both of them.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
These two 6-6 mediocrities are battling for first place in the AFC North.
—Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 5 Dec. 2025
The only character who seems entirely transparent is Frederik, who can’t hide his resentment of his second-class spousal status or his contempt for the sycophants and mediocrities who cling to his wife like barnacles.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
This past week both teams looked like nothing more than overpriced mediocrities at a time when all the reinforcements were supposed to have turned things around for both of them.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mediocrities
Noun
-
There are shooting options connected with Universal’s app, where selections include firing off steel spheres, fireballs and, as minions would have it, bananas.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Watch for Kara's intense ocular heat ray blasts and some fancy flying while she and Lobo battle Krem and his minions off-Earth.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Besides carnivorous snake-trees, majestic candlehawks, and various glittering quasi-insects, the Scythian biome includes a species called the basket-men, who look like a cross between great apes and praying mantises.—
Stephanie Burt,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
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The housekeeping team fogs the balés every week to keep most of the biting insects at bay, and gardens teeming with mosquito-repelling lemongrass and zodia plants help keep them at a distance.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That comes to the Philippines in the form of war, as well as through the invocation, or establishment, of American-style modes of government and education that place Filipinos along this racial hierarchy, identifying them as these inferiors that need to be taught how to govern themselves.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Seattle’s John Schneider and New England’s Eliot Wolf rose up from young nobodies to graduate from Green Bay Packers University, too.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Where else could award winning writers pop off about nothing at all, and nobodies could rattle the ivory towers?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Some of the victims had been wearing backpacks equipped with airbags that can help keep people on the surface of an avalanche, but had not pulled the cords to deploy the bags, the report said.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Peter Barnum, one of the people on shore who raced to the rescue, described the exhaustion of one of the victims, the father.—
Ted Scouten,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mediocrities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mediocrities. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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