"Mediocre" vs. "Okay"

Comments

• Hexartes

  2014-03-22 20:02:42

  "Okay" implies functionality and the possibility of an interesting discussion, "mediocre" implies a lack of quality/general disposablity.. 
• Tachyon

  2014-03-22 20:08:27

  ^{i will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch}
  

  Speaking for myself, OK means i don't think it's bad.
  
  Mediocre is negative, but mildly so.
  
• Princess Alice

  2014-03-22 20:22:59

  You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022

  What Tachyon said.
• Hexartes

  2014-03-22 20:28:23

  In my opinion, mediocre could also imply an utter lack of quality, albeit in an inoffensive way.
• Imipolex G

  2014-03-22 21:41:26

  Touch the cow. Do it now.
  

  "okay" means "not great, but decent enough to be enjoyable"
  
  "mediocre" means "not terrible, but frustrating because it could be so much better"
  
• glennmagusharvey

  2014-03-22 23:12:51

  mediocre implies a judgement of quality, that it is neither solidly good nor solidly bad.
  
  okay is a judgement of functionality, that it is acceptable.  it implies a judgement of quality, that it is barely above the threshold of acceptability.
  
• Tanya

  2014-03-22 23:29:13

  Pizza Dog

  Okay is a signifier of acceptance, you use this word when you're trying to agree to something.
  
  Mediocre refers to an average quality.
  
• Aliroz

  2014-03-23 15:30:13 edited 2014-03-23 17:55:32

  ...And even when your hope is gone

  move along, move along, just to make it through

  (2015 self)

  From MWNCD9E synonym distinction on Common:
  
  COMMON implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence <a common error> <lacked common sense> and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness <O hard is the bed . . . and common the blanket and cheap ---A. E. Housman>
  
  ORDINARY stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things <an ordinary pleasant summer day> <a very ordinary sort of man>
  
  PLAIN is likely to suggest homely simplicity <the plain people everywhere . . . wish to live in peace --- F. D. Roosevelt>
  
  FAMILIAR stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized <a familiar melody>
  
  POPULAR applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups ,<a popular tune>
  
  VULGAR, otherwise similar to POPULAR, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness) <goods designed to appeal to the vulgar taste>.
  
  
  MWNCD9E's definition for Mediocre:
  
  Me*di*o*cre: adj [ME, fr L mediocris, lit., halfway up a mountain, fr medi- + ocris stony mountain; akin to L acer sharp --- more at EDGE] (1586): of moderate or low quality: ORDINARY
  
  ¹or*di*nary: n, pl -nar*ies [ME ordinarie, fr. AF & ML; MF ordenance, lit., act of arranging, fr. ML ordinarius, fr L. ordinarius, adj.] 1 a (1): a prelate exercising original jurisdiction over a specified territory or group. (2): a clergyman appointed formerly in England to attend condemned criminals b: a judge or probate in some states of the U.S. 2often cap: the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day. 3: the regular or customary condition or course of things --- usu. used in the phrase out of the ordinary  4 a Brit: a meal served to all comers at a fixed price b chiefly Brit: a tavern or eating house serving regular meals 5: a common heraldic charge (as the bend or chevron) of simple form.
  
  ²ordinary adj [ME ordinarie, fr L ordinarius, adj.]  1 : of a kind t be expected in the normal order of events: ROUTINE, USUAL  2 : having or constituting immediate or original jurisdiction; also : belonging to such jurisdiction. 3 a : of common quality, rank, or ability b : deficient in quality : POOR, INFERIOR syn see COMMON
  -----or*di*nari*ly adv ---- or*di*nari*ness n
  
  MWNCD9E definition of OK or OKAY
  
  ¹OK or okay adv or adj [poss. abbr. of oll korrect, facetious alter of all correct] (1839): all right.
  
  ²OK or okay n (1840): APPROVAL, ENDORESEMENT
  
  ³OK or okay vt OK'D or okayed; OK'*ing or okay*ing (1888): APPROVE, AUTHORIZE
  
• Princess Alice

  2014-03-23 15:38:47

  You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022

  MWNCD9E = Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Ninth Edition?
• Aliroz

  2014-03-23 15:39:28 edited 2014-03-23 15:47:18

  ...And even when your hope is gone

  move along, move along, just to make it through

  (2015 self)

  Central Avenue said:

  MWNCD9E = Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Ninth Edition?

  That's absolutely correct.
  
• Tachyon

  2014-03-23 17:20:26

  ^{i will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch}
  

  oll korrect, one might say
  
• Aliroz

  2014-03-23 18:03:52 edited 2014-03-23 18:16:06

  ...And even when your hope is gone

  move along, move along, just to make it through

  (2015 self)

  Note that Merriam-Webster is not Webster; and should not be assumed to have Webster's methods.  Nor is Merriam-Webster exclusively american.