Synonym Game

meanness

[meen-nis] Origin

mean·ness

[meen-nis]
noun
1.
the state or quality of being mean.
2.
a mean act: to answer meannesses with forgiveness.

Origin:
1550–60; mean2 + -ness
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Meanness is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
mean2 (miːn)
 
adj
1.  chiefly (Brit) miserly, ungenerous, or petty
2.  humble, obscure, or lowly: he rose from mean origins to high office
3.  despicable, ignoble, or callous: a mean action
4.  poor or shabby: mean clothing; a mean abode
5.  informal chiefly (US), (Canadian) bad-tempered; vicious
6.  informal ashamed: he felt mean about not letting the children go to the zoo
7.  informal chiefly (US) unwell; in low spirits
8.  slang excellent; skilful: he plays a mean trombone
9.  no mean
 a.  of high quality: no mean performer
 b.  difficult: no mean feat
 
[C12: from Old English gemǣne common; related to Old High German gimeini, Latin communis common, at first with no pejorative sense]
 
'meanly2
 
adv
 
'meanness2
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

meanness
1550s, "weakness," from mean (adj.) + -ness. Sense of "baseness" is from 1650s; that of "stinginess" from 1755.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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