Synonyms of mean
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as in to signify
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as in to matter
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as in to intend
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as in to indicate
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as in cruel
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as in dirty
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as in low
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as in stingy
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as in inferior
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as in great
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as in dilapidated
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as in lame
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as in average
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as in middle
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as in doing
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as in ministry
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as in worth
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1
as in to signify
to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind
the national anthem means various things to various people
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Relevance
2
as in to matter
to be of importance
your presence at my graduation would mean a lot to me
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3
as in to intend
to have in mind as a purpose or goal
I mean to win this race
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1
as in cruel
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
a mean, embittered old woman who wanted company for her misery
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2
as in dirty
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
a mean trick to play on a trusting person
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3
as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
Alexander Hamilton seems to have had feelings of inferiority because of his mean origins
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4
as in stingy
giving or sharing as little as possible
a mean child who hoarded all her toys
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5
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
it's no mean feat to memorize that long poem
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6
as in great
of the very best kind
I'm a mean dancer, so you could do worse than go to the prom with me
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7
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
he worked hard to escape the mean neighborhood of his youth
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8
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that was no mean stunt to pull off, especially with so little advance preparation
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as in average
being about midway between extremes of amount or size
for the state of Florida, what is the mean number of sunny days per month?
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1
as in middle
a middle point between extremes
that candidate's moderate views were seen as the mean that voters were looking for
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2
as in doing
means plural
an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result
won the competition by fair and honest means
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3
as in ministry
means plural
something used to achieve an end
the ends don't justify the means
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4
as in worth
means plural
the total of one's money and property
a woman of considerable means
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of mean
Daniel Birnbaum, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026
More elderly people could find themselves at the mercy of an obscure government program meant to save them from harm and preserve their dignity when their ability to take care of themselves is diminished.
—Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
By nature, llamas are smart, protective, and sometimes stubborn, earning them a reputation as mean creatures and for spitting on people.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Literary Hub, 31 Mar. 2026
About 7 million barrels per day of that loss is being made up through other means, like the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates and the release of strategic reserves, according to Kpler data.
—Victor Ordonez, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mean
Verb
For art institutions, the climate emergency should not only mean doing less.
—Daniel Birnbaum, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026
More elderly people could find themselves at the mercy of an obscure government program meant to save them from harm and preserve their dignity when their ability to take care of themselves is diminished.
—Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
But here from West Palm Beach’s cheap seats, people scurrying inside glass conjures up those halcyon summers of magnifying glasses, ants and mean kids.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
By nature, llamas are smart, protective, and sometimes stubborn, earning them a reputation as mean creatures and for spitting on people.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Noun
What does this quiet mean to you?
—Literary Hub, 31 Mar. 2026
About 7 million barrels per day of that loss is being made up through other means, like the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates and the release of strategic reserves, according to Kpler data.
—Victor Ordonez, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mean
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mean
Verb
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Hose and closeout crew teammate Christian Warriner, an Orion technician, know their job signifies the final inches before a 600,000-mile journey.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2026
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Green stars, which signify environmental practices, are also awarded.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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January 20 – February 18 When needs collide, inventive bridges matter most.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2026
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The timing matters as robotics competition heats up This legislation comes at a moment when China is rapidly advancing in robotics.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Supporters said the bill is intended to address ongoing concerns about insurance availability following destructive wildfires across the region.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
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Attorneys for Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating conservative icon Charlie Kirk, have revealed who prosecutors intend to call to the stand and also asked the court to delay the preliminary hearing.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While none of the commodities are traded as widely as oil, the surge indicates how ripple effects from the Middle East conflict could end up restricting production of the semiconductors that power artificial intelligence advances.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2026
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Preliminary findings indicate a Mercedes was traveling at a high rate of speed while navigating a curve when the driver lost control.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Someone breaking in the middle of the night … tying you up, these … are things that are nightmares.—
Lauren Clark,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the Dominican Republic, commercial fishers sometimes place a palm tree, floating upright and attached to a buoy, in the middle of the ocean.—
Mike Kurlansky,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In a city as up-to-the-minute as ours, finding a place to get a haircut that bad probably took some doing.—
Caleb Crain,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Understandably, the travelling Tottenham support stood motionless in the top tier above the Spurs goal, in complete disbelief in how Spurs had collapsed so disastrously, all entirely of their own doing.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Participants in Paris Club meetings are representatives from creditor countries’ finance ministries and their countries’ Export Credit Agencies, to whom most of the debt is often owed.—
Sven van Mourik,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
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Speaking in Doha today, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari was asked by CNN’s Matthew Chance about reports of a possible US ground invasion.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Both the Las Vegas and Pennsylvania campuses were designed to host the lion’s share of fulfillment activity on the West and East Coasts, each taking in 300,000 worth of orders per month on average with the capacity to scale up to 1 million orders during the peak holiday season.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
2 Apr. 2026
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The publication interviewed analysts at market intelligence company Sightline Climate, which in research first flagged by Ed Zitron last week noted that 12 gigawatts worth of power-consuming data centers are set to open in the US this year.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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