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meaner

 - 7 dictionary results

mean

2  [meen]
Use meaner in a Sentence
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. offensive, selfish, or unaccommodating; nasty; malicious: a mean remark; He gets mean when he doesn't get his way.
2. small-minded or ignoble: mean motives.
3. penurious, stingy, or miserly: a person who is mean about money.
4. inferior in grade, quality, or character: no mean reward.
5. low in status, rank, or dignity: mean servitors.
6. of little importance or consequence: mean little details.
7. unimposing or shabby: a mean abode.
8. small, humiliated, or ashamed: You should feel mean for being so stingy.
9. Informal. in poor physical condition.
10. troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered: a mean old horse.
11. Slang. skillful or impressive: He blows a mean trumpet.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME mene, aph. var. (see y- ) of imene, OE gemǣne; c. D gemeen, G gemein common, Goth gamains in common; cf. common

Synonyms:
2. contemptible, despicable. Mean, low, base, sordid, and vile all refer to ignoble characteristics worthy of dislike, contempt, or disgust. Mean suggests pettiness and small-mindedness: to take a mean advantage. Low suggests coarseness and vulgarity: low company. Base suggests selfish cowardice or moral depravity: base motives. Sordid suggests a wretched uncleanness, or sometimes an avariciousness without dignity or moral scruples: a sordid slum; sordid gain. Vile suggests disgusting foulness or repulsiveness: vile insinuation; a vile creature. 3. niggardly, close, tight, parsimonious, illiberal, ungenerous, selfish. See stingy. 5. common, humble; undignified, plebeian. 6. inconsequential, insignificant, petty, paltry, little, poor, wretched. 7. squalid, poor.

mean

3  [meen]
–noun
1. Usually, means. (used with a singular or plural verb) an agency, instrument, or method used to attain an end: The telephone is a means of communication. There are several means of solving the problem.
2. means,
a. available resources, esp. money: They lived beyond their means.
b. considerable financial resources; riches: a man of means.
3. something that is midway between two extremes; something intermediate: to seek a mean between cynicism and blind faith.
4. Mathematics.
a. a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, esp. the arithmetic mean.
b. either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.
5. Statistics. expected value. mathematical expectation (def. 2).
6. Logic. the middle term in a syllogism.
–adjective
7. occupying a middle position or an intermediate place, as in kind, quality, degree, or time: a mean speed; a mean course; the mean annual rainfall.
—Idioms
8. by all means,
a. (in emphasis) certainly: Go, by all means.
b. at any cost; without fail.
9. by any means, in any way; at all: We were not surprised at the news by any means.
10. by means of, with the help of; by the agency of; through: We crossed the stream by means of a log.
11. by no means, in no way; not at all: The prize is by no means certain.
Origin:
1300–50; ME mene < MF meen, var. of meien < L mediānus; see median
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To meaner
mean 2   (mēn)   
adj.   mean·er, mean·est

    1. Selfish in a petty way; unkind.

    2. Cruel, spiteful, or malicious.

    3. Low in quality or grade; inferior.

    4. Low in value or amount; paltry: paid no mean amount for the new shoes.

    5. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball.

    6. Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge.

  2. Ignoble; base: a mean motive.

  3. Miserly; stingy.

    1. Low in quality or grade; inferior.

    2. Low in value or amount; paltry: paid no mean amount for the new shoes.

    3. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball.

    4. Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge.

  5. Common or poor in appearance; shabby: "The rowhouses had been darkened by the rain and looked meaner and grimmer than ever" (Anne Tyler).

  6. Low in social status; of humble origins.

  7. Humiliated or ashamed.

  8. In poor physical condition; sick or debilitated.

  9. Extremely unpleasant or disagreeable: The meanest storm in years.

  10. Informal Ill-tempered.

  11. Slang

    1. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball.

    2. Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge.


[Middle English, from Old English gemǣne, common; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking in dignity or falling short of the standards befitting humans. Mean suggests pettiness, spite, or niggardliness: "Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own" (J.M. Barrie).
Something low violates standards of morality, ethics, or propriety: low cunning; a low trick.
Base suggests a contemptible, mean-spirited, or selfish lack of human decency: "that liberal obedience, without which your army would be a base rabble" (Edmund Burke).
Abject means brought low in condition: abject submission; abject poverty.
Ignoble means lacking noble qualities, such as elevated moral character: "For my part I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the government should play an ignoble part" (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.)
Sordid suggests foul, repulsive degradation: "It is through art . . . that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence" (Oscar Wilde).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

mean

In statistics, an average of a group of numbers or data points. With a group of numbers, the mean is obtained by adding them and dividing by the number of numbers in the group. Thus the mean of five, seven, and twelve is eight (twenty-four divided by three). (Compare median and mode.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
mean

  1. mod.
    having to do with someone or something that is very good; cool. : This music is mean, man, mean. What a great sound!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

mean  (v.)
O.E. mænan "to mean, tell, say, complain," from W.Gmc. *mainijanan (cf. O.Fris. mena, Du. menen, Ger. meinen to think, suppose, be of the opinion"), from PIE *meino- "opinion, intent" (cf. O.C.S. meniti "to think, have an opinion," O.Ir. mian "wish, desire," Welsh mwyn "enjoyment"), probably from base *men- "think." Meaningful first attested 1852.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

mean (mēn)
n.

  1. Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium.

  2. A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean.

  3. The average value of a set of numbers.

adj.

  1. Occupying a middle or intermediate position between two extremes.

  2. Intermediate in size, extent, quality, time, or degree; medium.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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