English Dictionary

MIDDLING

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does middling mean? 

MIDDLING (noun)
  The noun MIDDLING has 1 sense:

1. any commodity of intermediate quality or size (especially when coarse particles of ground wheat are mixed with bran)play

  Familiarity information: MIDDLING used as a noun is very rare.


MIDDLING (adjective)
  The adjective MIDDLING has 1 sense:

1. lacking exceptional quality or abilityplay

  Familiarity information: MIDDLING used as an adjective is very rare.


MIDDLING (adverb)
  The adverb MIDDLING has 1 sense:

1. to certain extent or degreeplay

  Familiarity information: MIDDLING used as an adverb is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


MIDDLING (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Any commodity of intermediate quality or size (especially when coarse particles of ground wheat are mixed with bran)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("middling" is a kind of...):

commodity; good; trade good (articles of commerce)


MIDDLING (adjective)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking exceptional quality or ability

Synonyms:

average; fair; mediocre; middling

Context example:

the performance was middling at best

Similar:

ordinary (not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree)


MIDDLING (adverb)


Sense 1

Meaning:

To certain extent or degree

Synonyms:

fairly; jolly; middling; moderately; passably; pretty; reasonably; somewhat

Context example:

he is fairly clever with computers


 Context examples 


Middling, my dear; I cannot compliment you.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

You must know it to be so; and the general made such a point of your providing nothing extraordinary: besides, if he had not said half so much as he did, he has always such an excellent dinner at home, that sitting down to a middling one for one day could not signify.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

He was a stout young man of middling height, who, with a plain face and ungraceful form, seemed fearful of being too handsome unless he wore the dress of a groom, and too much like a gentleman unless he were easy where he ought to be civil, and impudent where he might be allowed to be easy.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"A creaking door hangs longest." (English proverb)

"Not need to know French to ask to sleep outside" (Breton proverb)

"When the fox can't reach the grape, says it's unripe." (Armenian proverb)

"The doctor comes to the house where the sun can't reach." (Corsican proverb)



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