1
as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
meanly silent up to that point, he now felt that fair criticism was turning into gratuitous insult
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in despitefully
in a mean or spiteful manner
in a meanly worded letter she told me that she never wanted to see me again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of meanly
Kardashian was in court to share new details from a horrific assault in the name of seeking justice; to comment meanly on her outfit would have been a weird move.
—
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
At Artnet, Walter assembled a motley crew of writers, including the unstoppable Charlie Finch, who would meanly attack everyone.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
Fearing the sentimental, my nature is to end things meanly.
—Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The third point in this tinderbox triangle of frenemyship is Elena, a girl in their class whom Jana side-eyes meanly for her reputation for being easy, who uploads twerking selfies to social media and who also buzzes around school jock Kris.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 1 Sep. 2021
Later visits from the Galileo mission confirmed this very active volcanism on Io, with surface lava temperatures of 1250-1450C, meanly likely ultramafic compositions (komaiites - very low silica content, below 45 weight % and rare on Earth).
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2011
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
At Artnet, Walter assembled a motley crew of writers, including the unstoppable Charlie Finch, who would meanly attack everyone.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
Fearing the sentimental, my nature is to end things meanly.
—Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The third point in this tinderbox triangle of frenemyship is Elena, a girl in their class whom Jana side-eyes meanly for her reputation for being easy, who uploads twerking selfies to social media and who also buzzes around school jock Kris.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 1 Sep. 2021
Later visits from the Galileo mission confirmed this very active volcanism on Io, with surface lava temperatures of 1250-1450C, meanly likely ultramafic compositions (komaiites - very low silica content, below 45 weight % and rare on Earth).
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meanly
Adverb
-
While skiing in the Dolomites, I was humbly reminded that most hotel rooms in Italy don’t have coffee makers.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Greenidge puts her aims even more humbly.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
In day care, dogs are introduced to a range of new experiences while also learning positive behaviors such as sitting calmly for a nail trim, greeting other dogs politely, or coming when called.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Kerr spoke for the first time on Tuesday, an hour or so before news of Kuminga’s new deal broke, answering only a few questions about the 22-year-old forward’s status before politely declining to answer anything else until the contract negotiations were settled.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In Inwood, even a pair of volunteers for Cuomo sheepishly stopped him for selfies.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
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Outside the house, Jake finally gets a hold of Anna, and sheepishly threatens to fire her in a way that suggests our guy doesn’t exactly maintain professional boundaries with his attractive young staffers.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
18 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Doxxing involves sharing someone’s personal or private information maliciously.—
Julia Marnin,
Sacbee.com,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Google and other firms that have delved deeply into generative AI employ a number of techniques to prevent AI from acting maliciously.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
22 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Princess Bride is superbly planned and deferentially orchestrated — its theme fits its telling.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Fede knows the truth, but Roberto doesn’t, and Fede has held that over Antonio ever since, with Antonio bitterly blaming himself for his wife’s death.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Oct. 2025
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Both the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois bitterly oppose the move and have launched legal action in a bid to block it.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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Well, after years of stuttering, pausing, juddering, waiting for the goalkeeper to dive and then rolling spot kicks meekly into the net, Nick Woltemade may have just reversed the trend.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Meanly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meanly. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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