mongrel

noun

1
: an individual resulting from the interbreeding of diverse breeds (see breed entry 2 sense 1) or strains (see strain entry 1 sense 1)
especially : one of unknown ancestry
She owns several dogs, one of which is a mongrel.
2
: a cross between types of persons or things
the cinema is … a mongrel of virtually all the other artsGerald Mast
mongrel adjective
mongrelization noun
mongrelize transitive verb

Examples of mongrel in a Sentence

She owns several dogs, including a mongrel named Stella. mongrels often suffer fewer health problems than purebreds
Recent Examples on the Web Herzog has chosen to retain one of Ibsen’s thorniest speeches, a diatribe about social evolution in which Stockmann talks of the difference between mongrel dogs and pedigree breeds as an analogy for the uneducated masses and the elite intelligentsia. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 To continue playing the songs without that mongrel soul is just cash register stuff. Matt Thompson, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2024 And though not all 10 shows (and various bonuses) on my mostly chronological list below fit that mongrel category, even the gravest of them seem to have gotten the memo that theater should not be a bore or a drag. Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 4 Dec. 2023 There is also a peculiar effect whereby different books read by the same narrator can seem to agglutinate into a single mongrel super-book. Paul Grimstad, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for mongrel 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mongrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, probably from mong mixture, short for ymong, from Old English gemong crowd — more at among

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mongrel was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near mongrel

Cite this Entry

“Mongrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mongrel. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

mongrel

1 of 2 noun
mon·​grel
ˈməŋ-grəl,
ˈmäŋ-
1
: the offspring of parents of different breeds (as of dogs)
especially : one whose ancestors are unknown
2
: a person or thing of mixed origin

mongrel

2 of 2 adjective
: of mixed or uncertain kind or origin

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