minced; mincing
1
a
: to cut or chop into very small pieces
She minced the garlic.
b
: to subdivide minutely
especially
: to damage by cutting up
The director minced up the play.
2
: to utter or pronounce with affectation
minced the word in the manner of the old lady
3
a
archaic
: minimize
b
: to restrain (words) within the bounds of decorum
minced no words in stating his dislike—
J. T. Farrell
J. T. Farrell
: to walk with short steps in a prim affected manner
The comedian minced across the stage.
mincer
noun
1
: small chopped bits (as of food)
specifically
: mincemeat
2
British
: hamburger sense 1a
Examples of mince in a Sentence
Verb
She minced the onions.
minced some garlic and added it to the stew
Recent Examples on the Web
Andy Naylor, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
The Measurement Crisis Measurement consistently ranks as the top pain point for media buyers across every industry survey, and Pratt doesn’t mince words about why.
—Kiri Masters, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Bigelow’s explosively entertaining real-time thriller, told from multiple perspectives at various levels of government from situation room deputies to POTUS (Idris Elba) himself, does not mince on hopelessness.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Prince Philip didn’t mince his words on his grandson’s big day.
—Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mince
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Asked at the time by The Athletic to explain the decision to leave Enciso out, Hurzeler did not mince his words.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
The Measurement Crisis Measurement consistently ranks as the top pain point for media buyers across every industry survey, and Pratt doesn’t mince words about why.
—Kiri Masters, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Bigelow’s explosively entertaining real-time thriller, told from multiple perspectives at various levels of government from situation room deputies to POTUS (Idris Elba) himself, does not mince on hopelessness.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Prince Philip didn’t mince his words on his grandson’s big day.
—Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mince
Cite this Entry
“Mince.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mince. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share