mean

1 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> Synonyms baseborn, common, humble, inferior, low, lowborn, lower-class, low-life, lowly, lumpen, mean, plebeian, prole, proletarian, unwashed, vulgarRelated Words bourgeois, middle-class; plain, poor, simple, working-class; déclassé, down-market, downscaleNear Antonyms eminent, illustrious, notable, prominentAntonyms aristocratic, blue-blooded, genteel, gentle, grand, great, high, highborn, highbred, lofty, noble, partrician, upper-class, upper-crust, wellborn

2 giving or sharing as little as possible <a mean child who hoarded all her toys> Synonyms cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerousRelated Words careful, chary, conserving, economical, economizing, frugal, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrifty; acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, greedy, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious, selfish, shabby, small, sordid; begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful; inhospitableNear Antonyms altruistic, selfless, unselfish; extravagant, free, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse; beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic (also philanthropical); compassionate, good-hearted, greathearted, kindly, magnanimous, openhearted; thriftless, unthrifty; dissipating, frittering, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, splurging, squandering, wasteful, wastingAntonyms bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting

3 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> Synonyms bad [slang], bitchy, catty, cruel, despiteful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful, vicious, virulentRelated Words devious, scoundrelly, scurvy, snakelike; acrimonious, bitter, envious, jaundiced, jealous, rancorous, resentful, vindictive, vitriolic; contemptuous, deprecating, derogatory, disdainful, disparaging, mean-spirited, obnoxious, opprobrious, scornful, snide, snotty, unkind, unkindly, unloving; baleful, baneful, evil; harsh, hostile, inimical; acrid, caustic, poisonous, scathing, venomousNear Antonyms compassionate, good, good-hearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly, sympathetic, warm, warmhearted; affable, agreeable, amiable, cordial, friendly, genial, gracious, nice, pleasant; affectionate, amorous, sweet, tender, tenderhearted; humane; altruistic, high-minded, humanitarian, magnanimous, noble, philanthropic (also philanthropical)Antonyms benevolent, benign, benignant, loving, unmalicious

4 not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency <a mean trick to play on a trusting person> Synonyms base, contemptible, currish, despicable, detestable, dirty, dishonorable, execrable, ignominious, low, low-down, low-minded, mean, nasty, paltry, snide, sordid, vile, wretchedRelated Words bad, black, evil, foul, immoral, iniquitous, miscreant, wicked, wrong; cruel, vicious; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, perverted; atrocious, villainous; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous; discreditable, disgraceful, disreputable, shameful, unworthyNear Antonyms ethical, honest, just, principled, righteous, right-minded, scrupulous; commendable, excellent, exemplary, good, moral, right; decent, proper, reputable, respectable, seemly; blameless, guiltless; incorruptible, irreproachable; uncorrupted, unerringAntonyms high, high-minded, honorable, lofty, noble, straight, upright, venerable, virtuous

5 of little or less value or merit <it's no mean feat to memorize that long poem> Synonyms mean, minor, secondary, second-class, second-rateRelated Words junior, lesser, lower, low-level, petty, smaller, subordinate, under; average, common, fair, middling, ordinary; amiss, bad, defective, unsatisfactory, wrong; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, unacceptable; littler, slighter, smaller; jerkwater, low-rent, one-horse, small-time, two-bitNear Antonyms major, more, primary, senior; choice, exceptional, first-class, first-rate, high-grade, premium, prime, select, selected; acceptable, adequate, sufficientAntonyms greater, higher, superior

6 of the very best kind <I'm a mean dancer, so you could do worse than go to the prom with me> Synonyms A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], boss [slang], brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool [slang], corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope [slang], down [slang], dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous [slang], fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters (also gangbuster), gilt-edged (or gilt-edge), gone [slang], grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype [slang], immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight [slang], par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat [slang], prime, primo [slang], prize, prizewinning, quality, radical [slang], righteous [slang], sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping [chiefly British], top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard [chiefly British], wonderfulRelated Words acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK (or okay), passable, satisfactory, tolerable; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine; classical, standard, traditionalNear Antonyms bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rateAntonyms atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched

7 showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect <he worked hard to escape the mean neighborhood of his youth> Synonyms beat-up, bombed-out, dilapidated, dog-eared, down-at-the-heels (or down-at-heel also down-at-the-heel or down-at-heels), dumpy, grungy, mangy, mean, miserable, moth-eaten, neglected, ratty, run-down, scrubby, scruffy, seedy, sleazy, tacky, tatterdemalion, tatty, threadbare, timeworn, tumbledownRelated Words abandoned, uncared-for, unkept; desolate, forlorn, godforsaken; broken-down, decrepit, tired, worn-out; bedraggled, dingy, ragged, tattered; decaying, deteriorated, deteriorating, rackety, ramshackle, rattletrap, rickety, tumbledown; broken, damaged, destroyed, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, ruined, wreckedNear Antonyms brand-new, fresh, new; cared-for, kept-up, maintained; mended, patched, rebuilt, reconstructed; smart, spiffy, spruce

8 arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust <that was no mean stunt to pull off, especially with so little advance preparation> Synonyms cheap, cruddy, deplorable, despicable, dirty, grubby, lame, lousy, mean, nasty, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, ratty, scabby, scummy, scurvy, sneaking, sorry, wretchedRelated Words abhorrent, abominable, condemnable, detestable, execrable, hateful, loathsome, odious; disgusting, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive; discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, ignominious, shameful; base, ignoble, low, shabby, sordid, squalid, vile; blamable, censurable, reprehensible, reproachable; cowardly, craven, dastardly; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulousNear Antonyms high-minded, honest, honorable, noble, principled, redoubtable, reputable, right-minded, scrupulous, upright; ethical, good, moral, right, righteous, virtuousAntonyms admirable, commendable, creditable, laudable, meritorious, praiseworthy