| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| mean2 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  m n |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: mean·er, mean·est
1a. Selfish in a petty way; unkind. b. Cruel, spiteful, or malicious. 2. Ignoble; base: a mean motive. 3. Miserly; stingy. 4a. Low in quality or grade; inferior. b. Low in value or amount; paltry: paid no mean amount for the new shoes. 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 a. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball. b. Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English gem ne, common. See mei-1 in Appendix I. | | SYNONYMS: | mean2, low1, base2, abject, ignoble, sordid 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).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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