What's the difference between mediocre and poor?

Mediocre


Definition:

  • (a.) Of a middle quality; of but a moderate or low degree of excellence; indifferent; ordinary.
  • (n.) A mediocre person.
  • (n.) A young monk who was excused from performing a portion of a monk's duties.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The interobserver variability of these indices is low (r greater than 0.96); reproducibility is good in patients with sinus rhythm but mediocre in atrial fibrillation.
  • (2) Only a few weeks ago he described English education as “mediocre”.
  • (3) This is a community where readers' patience for mediocrity is measured in seconds not minutes," added Thomson, the former Times editor who moved to New York to run the WSJ at the end of 2007 following Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of the paper's publisher, Dow Jones.
  • (4) The hospital laboratory was asked to provide for diffractometric analysis samples of the "mediocre" semens of quality similar enough to the "control" ones what concerns the percentage of motile spermatozoa (40 percent) and spermatozoan concentration.
  • (5) The unprecedented stimuli provided by central banks has kept activity ticking over, but proved unable to lift the global economy out of what Lagarde calls “the new mediocre”.
  • (6) I'm sure that advisers are at fault: mediocre people with PR degrees, eagerly advising on how to avoid the resentment of the masses.
  • (7) The value of conventional non-invasive methods is limited by a high failure rate (standard echocardiography in patients with chronic respiratory disease), a mediocre sensitivity, notably in detecting moderate PAH (electrocardiography, radiography of the chest, myocardial thalium scintigraphy) or a poor specificity (isotopic angiography).
  • (8) From the endocrine point of view, the mediocre prognosis is aggravated by high energy radiotherapy.
  • (9) The mediocre results among the group of inoperable patients suggest that other chemotherapy protocols need to be tested.
  • (10) This grid, used for the analysis of 527 randomized trials, showed that about one-half of them were of mediocre quality, the most frequent defects encountered being the multiplicity of assessment criteria, the lack of description of the subjects excluded, the absence of calculation of the number of subjects required before starting the trial and the small number of subjects in trials with non-significant results.
  • (11) Negative and mediocre results were more frequent in cases of gonarthrosis.
  • (12) Its contribution is obviously essential when, for technical reasons, arterial opacification is only mediocre (extended angiocardiopneumography).
  • (13) Stock Woolstencroft , architects of the dismal Stratford towers, are attempting to continue their march of mediocrity with schemes on the other side of the park.
  • (14) All the interviews supported the notion of an arbitrary norm for pay, which almost all firms felt was grossly and inappropriately high … The general view of search firms is that a lower norm would not materially affect what happens.” One headhunter said: “I think there are an awful lot of FTSE 100 CEOs who are pretty mediocre.” Another added: “I think that the wage drift over the past 10 years, or the salary drift, has been inexcusable, incomprehensible, and it is very serious for the social fabric of the country.” The findings are being made public just as an analysis by the High Pay Centre thinktank shows that the average pay of a chief executive – including pensions, share options and bonuses – stands at about £4.6m.
  • (15) A mediocre succession of atria and galleries, it does at least give artists space.
  • (16) Such has been the generally mediocre standard of Woods' play over the last two years, he has had perhaps only half a dozen realistic chances of winning on Sunday afternoon.
  • (17) This would happen especially if the school inspectorate Ofsted found they were failing, mediocre, fragile or coasting.
  • (18) For the svengali of mediocrity decreed that every year would culminate in the release of a single from the winner of his X Factor, and that this contribution to the lexicon would dutifully top the charts.
  • (19) Chemicals on the loop were Ca (abundant); Mg (marked); Si (mediocre); Ab, Ba, Fe (insignificant); Mn, Mo, Zn, P (trace).
  • (20) While the Lakers' two-year contract extension may end up being "an expensive mediocrity overpaying a franchise star in decline", as Grantland's Zach Lowe has put it , it could also have very well been the only move it could have sold to its fans.

Poor


Definition:

  • (superl.) Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent.
  • (superl.) So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
  • (superl.) Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected
  • (superl.) Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc.
  • (superl.) Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits.
  • (superl.) Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings.
  • (superl.) Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; -- said of land; as, poor soil.
  • (superl.) Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture.
  • (superl.) Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night.
  • (superl.) Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse.
  • (superl.) Worthy of pity or sympathy; -- used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt.
  • (superl.) Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
  • (n.) A small European codfish (Gadus minutus); -- called also power cod.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) There was appreciable variation in toothbrush wear among subjects, some reducing their brush to a poor state in 2 weeks whereas with others the brush was rated as "good" after 10 weeks.
  • (2) However, medicines have an important part to play, and it is now generally agreed that for the very poor populations medicines should be restricted to those on an 'essential drugs list' and should be made available as cheaply as possible.
  • (3) Inadequate treatment, caused by a lack of drugs and poorly trained medical attendants, is also a major problem.
  • (4) Clonazepam was added to the treatment of patients with poorly controlled epilepsy in a double-blind trial and an open trial.
  • (5) "There is a serious risk that a deal will be agreed between rich countries and tax havens that would leave poor countries out in the cold.
  • (6) The dangers caused by PM10s was highlighted in the Rogers review of local authority regulatory services, published in 2007, which said poor air quality contributed to between 12,000 and 24,000 premature deaths each year.
  • (7) Maybe the world economy goes tits up again, only this time we punish the rich instead of the poor.
  • (8) Poor radioresponders of glioblastoma with CEA should be reoperated.
  • (9) Poor lipophilicity and extremely low plasma concentrations impose severe constraints.
  • (10) However, each of the studies had numerous methodological flaws which biased their results against finding a relationship: either their outcome measures had questionable validity, their research designs were inappropriate, or the statistical analyses were poorly conceived.
  • (11) Symptoms were poorly localized in all these IPS osteomyelitis patients.
  • (12) Prognosis of patients with these autonomic failures is poor.
  • (13) All patients in Stages I and II (5 out of 26) who developed metastases had poorly differentiated (histological Type III) tumours.
  • (14) This study provides strong and unexpected evidence that one admission to hospital of more than a week's duration or repeated admissions before the age of five years (in particular between six months and four years) are associated with an increased risk of behaviour disturbance and poor reading in adolescence.
  • (15) Patients were divided into two groups: poor outcome, defined by the death or a post-operative Karnofsky index less than or equal to 70 (n = 36), and good outcome defined by a Karnofsky index of 80 or more (n = 60).
  • (16) Improvement of its particularly poor prognosis requires therefore early screening based on reliable biological markers.
  • (17) It has a poor prognosis prior to the current combined treatment of surgical ablation, radiation to the surgical field, and chemotherapy for microscopic metastases.
  • (18) Photograph: AP Reasons for wavering • State relies on coal-fired electricity • Poor prospects for wind power • Conservative Democrat • Represents conservative district in conservative state and was elected on narrow margins Campaign support from fossil fuel interests in 2008 • $93,743 G K Butterfield (North Carolina) GK Butterfield, North Carolina.
  • (19) There were significant differences in the mean erythrocyte transketolase activity of the thiaminase excreting poor animals and the thiaminase free normal animals.
  • (20) In this material the ultrastructural details are very poorly preserved.