Synonyms of mean

mean 1 of 4

verb

ˈmēn 

1

as in to signify

to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind

the national anthem means various things to various people

Synonyms & Similar Words

• signify
• imply
• denote
• indicate
• suggest
• intend
• spell
• express
• explain
• infer
• import
• represent
• mention
• symbolize
• symbol
• specify
• connote
• amount (to)
• point (to)
• announce
• embody
• hint
• refer (to)
• touch (on or upon)
• add up (to)
• instance
• proclaim
• cite
• signal
• personify
• allude (to)
• elucidate
• insinuate
• designate
• epitomize
• intimate
• declare
• advert

2

as in to matter

to be of importance

your presence at my graduation would mean a lot to me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• matter
• weigh
• signify
• count
• influence
• affect
• import
• cut ice
• carry weight
• concern
• sway
• amount (to)
• add up (to)

3

as in to intend

to have in mind as a purpose or goal

I mean to win this race

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intend
• plan
• hope
• look
• wish
• contemplate
• go
• aim
• try
• propose
• purpose
• calculate
• purport
• aspire
• design
• allow
• consider
• attempt
• figure on
• meditate
• dream
• struggle
• strive
• accomplish
• debate
• achieve
• scheme
• effect
• ponder
• endeavor
• perform
• mull (over)
• execute
• plot

4

as in to indicate

to serve as a sign or symptom of

these colder nights mean autumn has truly arrived

Synonyms & Similar Words

• indicate
• signify
• denote
• tell (of)
• point (to)
• betoken
• bode
• presage
• bespeak
• foretell
• foreshow

mean

2 of 4

adjective (1)

ˈmēn 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cruel
• malicious
• vicious
• hateful
• bad
• nasty
• spiteful
• malignant
• bitchy
• jealous
• malign
• malevolent
• bitter
• despiteful
• harsh
• virulent
• venomous
• catty
• poisonous
• evil
• obnoxious
• vindictive
• envious
• unkind
• resentful
• hostile
• derogatory
• disparaging
• scurvy
• contemptuous
• disdainful
• unkindly
• devious
• snotty
• snide
• snakelike
• deprecating
• scornful
• baneful
• acrimonious
• jaundiced
• mean-spirited
• vitriolic
• scoundrelly
• inimical
• unloving
• rancorous
• baleful
• opprobrious
• caustic
• scathing
• acrid

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• good
• loving
• benign
• kind
• benevolent
• sympathetic
• warm
• kindly
• nice
• compassionate
• pleasant
• agreeable
• friendly
• sweet
• gracious
• unmalicious
• amiable
• benignant
• cordial
• genial
• affable
• affectionate
• kindhearted
• amorous
• good-hearted
• tender
• warmhearted
• noble
• humane
• magnanimous
• humanitarian
• altruistic
• philanthropic
• tenderhearted
• high-minded

2

as in dirty

not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency

a mean trick to play on a trusting person

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dirty
• nasty
• vile
• immoral
• cruel
• bad
• contemptible
• vicious
• corrupt
• wrong
• detestable
• dishonorable
• despicable
• evil
• ignoble
• snide
• sordid
• base
• wretched
• ignominious
• low-down
• low
• paltry
• execrable
• wicked
• currish
• foul
• low-minded
• iniquitous
• perverted
• reprehensible
• degenerate
• miscreant
• blameworthy
• depraved
• shameful
• blamable
• disgraceful
• debased
• atrocious
• censurable
• villainous
• unworthy
• unethical
• dissolute
• unscrupulous
• unprincipled
• discreditable
• debauched
• disreputable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• high
• just
• straight
• noble
• honorable
• virtuous
• right
• lofty
• venerable
• good
• honest
• ethical
• moral
• upright
• righteous
• excellent
• scrupulous
• proper
• principled
• commendable
• exemplary
• decent
• respectable
• high-minded
• reputable
• blameless
• right-minded
• guiltless
• seemly
• irreproachable
• incorruptible
• unerring
• uncorrupted

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• low
• common
• humble
• inferior
• plebeian
• proletarian
• ignoble
• vulgar
• lowly
• poor
• lower-class
• low-life
• unwashed
• lumpen
• prole
• simple
• bourgeois
• plain
• middle-class
• lowborn
• baseborn
• working-class
• déclassé
• downscale
• down-market

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• great
• high
• noble
• gentle
• grand
• lofty
• aristocratic
• upper-class
• patrician
• genteel
• notable
• prominent
• upper-crust
• eminent
• illustrious
• highborn
• highbred
• blue-blooded
• wellborn

4

as in stingy

giving or sharing as little as possible

a mean child who hoarded all her toys

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stingy
• selfish
• close
• greedy
• miserly
• tight
• ungenerous
• pinching
• cheap
• parsimonious
• uncharitable
• desirous
• careful
• sparing
• chintzy
• spare
• conserving
• mingy
• penurious
• tightfisted
• economical
• pinchpenny
• saving
• small
• closefisted
• penny-pinching
• stinting
• economizing
• mercenary
• thrifty
• envious
• avaricious
• begrudging
• frugal
• covetous
• grudging
• grasping
• shabby
• sordid
• chary
• resentful
• itchy
• coveting
• avid
• skimping
• acquisitive
• rapacious
• hoggish
• scrimping
• inhospitable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• charitable
• bountiful
• bounteous
• altruistic
• munificent
• unselfish
• selfless
• handsome
• free
• extravagant
• unsparing
• unstinting
• openhanded
• benevolent
• beneficent
• lavish
• humanitarian
• profuse
• kindly
• overgenerous
• hospitable
• magnanimous
• freehanded
• philanthropic
• compassionate
• wasting
• wasteful
• prodigal
• unthrifty
• openhearted
• profligate
• good-hearted
• greathearted
• spendthrift
• dissipating
• thriftless
• squandering
• splurging
• frittering

5

as in inferior

of little or less value or merit

it's no mean feat to memorize that long poem

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inferior
• minor
• smaller
• secondary
• ordinary
• second-class
• lesser
• average
• lower
• petty
• wrong
• inadequate
• second-rate
• unacceptable
• subordinate
• under
• bad
• insufficient
• low-level
• unsatisfactory
• common
• junior
• fair
• amiss
• defective
• middling
• deficient
• littler
• slighter
• jerkwater
• low-rent
• two-bit
• one-horse
• small-time

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• greater
• higher
• more
• superior
• major
• primary
• senior
• acceptable
• sufficient
• prime
• exceptional
• adequate
• select
• choice
• first-class
• selected
• premium
• high-grade
• first-rate

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• great
• awesome
• wonderful
• excellent
• lovely
• terrific
• beautiful
• fantastic
• fabulous
• fine
• superb
• stellar
• prime
• marvelous
• hot
• quality
• cool
• neat
• classic
• famous
• too much
• divine
• heavenly
• good
• brave
• swell
• dandy
• choice
• superior
• immense
• keen
• brag
• out of this world
• number one
• sensational
• slick
• exceptional
• gone
• bully
• cracking
• grand
• superlative
• par excellence
• noble
• radical
• splendid
• top
• nifty
• groovy
• banner
• better
• high-class
• first-class
• dope
• acceptable
• boss
• prize
• topping
• sterling
• unsurpassed
• peachy
• OK
• top-shelf
• top-notch
• fab
• A-OK
• righteous
• down
• first-rate
• capital
• frontline
• decent
• wizard
• bumper
• hype
• crackerjack
• fantabulous
• gangbusters
• dynamite
• adequate
• first-string
• special
• blue-chip
• A1
• satisfactory
• all right
• numero uno
• primo
• blue-ribbon
• supernal
• peachy keen
• out-of-sight
• bang-up
• jim-dandy
• bonny
• phat
• topflight
• tip-top
• tolerable
• fancy
• top-of-the-line
• corking
• boffo
• classical
• traditional
• five-star
• prizewinning
• standard
• four-star
• select
• gilt-edged
• passable
• premium
• high-grade
• high-test
• superfine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• terrible
• poor
• awful
• pathetic
• vile
• lousy
• wretched
• bad
• rotten
• atrocious
• inferior
• unsatisfactory
• substandard
• low-grade
• execrable
• mediocre
• second-class
• middling
• second-rate

7

as in dilapidated

showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect

he worked hard to escape the mean neighborhood of his youth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dilapidated
• neglected
• tired
• miserable
• scruffy
• gone to seed
• mangy
• shabby
• tacky
• dumpy
• abandoned
• tatty
• scrubby
• desolate
• tattered
• ruined
• tumbledown
• grungy
• ragged
• seedy
• sleazy
• broken
• timeworn
• ratty
• beat-up
• run-down
• down-at-the-heels
• tatterdemalion
• damaged
• threadbare
• dog-eared
• hurt
• bombed-out
• deteriorated
• unkept
• wrecked
• destroyed
• moth-eaten
• decrepit
• deteriorating
• dingy
• forlorn
• injured
• godforsaken
• decaying
• impaired
• harmed
• ramshackle
• rickety
• bedraggled
• broken-down
• rackety
• worn-out
• rattletrap

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• new
• fresh
• maintained
• brand-new
• kept-up
• reconstructed
• mended
• smart
• patched
• rebuilt
• spiffy
• cared-for
• spruce

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lame
• pitiful
• cheap
• dirty
• nasty
• sorry
• wretched
• hateful
• disgusting
• contemptible
• vile
• pitiable
• deplorable
• sneaking
• despicable
• lousy
• scabby
• scurvy
• paltry
• grubby
• scummy
• ratty
• disgraceful
• abominable
• cruddy
• shameful
• abhorrent
• loathsome
• odious
• detestable
• repugnant
• repulsive
• revolting
• condemnable
• disreputable
• execrable
• dishonorable
• discreditable
• craven
• ignominious
• shabby
• reptilian
• base
• ignoble
• sordid
• reprehensible
• cowardly
• low
• dastardly
• unethical
• squalid
• revulsive
• unscrupulous
• unprincipled
• blamable
• reproachable
• censurable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• admirable
• commendable
• laudable
• praiseworthy
• creditable
• meritorious
• honest
• noble
• honorable
• right
• good
• scrupulous
• reputable
• principled
• redoubtable
• moral
• upright
• ethical
• virtuous
• righteous
• high-minded
• right-minded

mean

3 of 4

adjective (2)

ˈmēn 

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?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• average
• median
• typical
• moderate
• reasonable
• middle
• modest
• intermediate
• medium
• normal
• middling
• standard
• usual
• adequate
• midsize
• conventional
• common
• regular
• routine
• tolerable
• commonplace
• popular
• passable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extreme
• excessive
• unusual
• strange
• special
• rare
• uncommon
• exceptional
• unique
• individual
• distinctive
• private
• peculiar
• idiosyncratic

mean

4 of 4

noun

ˈmēn 

1

as in middle

a middle point between extremes

that candidate's moderate views were seen as the mean that voters were looking for

Synonyms & Similar Words

• middle
• average
• golden mean
• middle ground
• midpoint
• middle of the road
• norm
• medium
• median
• standard
• arithmetic mean
• par

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• maximum
• minimum
• utmost

2

as in doing

means plural an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result

won the competition by fair and honest means

Synonyms & Similar Words

• doing
• measure
• move
• success
• activity
• feat
• project
• shift
• process
• accomplishment
• action
• course
• event
• step
• work
• achievement
• business
• expedient
• act
• proceeding
• effort
• procedure
• initiative
• while
• proposal
• operation
• attempt
• try
• thing
• dealing
• endeavor
• affair
• deed
• undertaking
• exploit
• crack
• go
• triumph
• coup
• enterprise
• trouble
• essay
• proposition
• pass
• attainment
• stab
• pains
• labor
• resource
• exertion
• whack
• trial
• resort
• shot
• fling
• counterstep
• countermeasure
• stopgap
• countermove
• makeshift

3

as in ministry

means plural something used to achieve an end

the ends don't justify the means

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ministry
• cause
• organ
• agency
• vehicle
• reason
• machinery
• instrumentality
• instrument
• factor
• agent
• influence
• occasion
• medium
• power
• tool
• generator
• mechanism
• incentive
• determinant
• ingredient
• activator
• impetus
• stimulus
• weapon
• driver
• trigger
• antecedent
• animator
• catalyst
• inspiration
• expedient
• executor
• instigator
• instigation
• mover
• launcher
• energizer
• subagent
• subagency

4

as in worth

means plural the total of one's money and property

a woman of considerable means

Synonyms & Similar Words

• worth
• wealth
• fortune
• riches
• money
• assets
• prosperity
• success
• things
• effects
• capital
• possessions
• substance
• wherewithal
• funds
• opulence
• resources
• abundance
• finances
• property
• belongings
• holdings
• wallet
• treasure
• personal property
• chattels
• affluence
• acquisition
• paraphernalia
• savings
• deep pockets
• valuables
• accession
• personalty
• bankroll
• nest egg
• treasury
• reserve

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liabilities
• debts
• indebtedness

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mean distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of mean are average, median, and norm. While all these words mean "something that represents a middle point," mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes.

a high of 70° and a low of 50° give a mean of 60°

In what contexts can average take the place of mean?

Although the words average and mean have much in common, average is the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures.

scored an average of 85 on tests

When could median be used to replace mean?

While the synonyms median and mean are close in meaning, median applies to the value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below.

average of a group of persons earning 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 dollars an hour is 6 dollars, whereas the median is 5 dollars

When is it sensible to use norm instead of mean?

The words norm and mean can be used in similar contexts, but norm means the average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade.

scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mean

Verb

In fact, Badinage means witty chitchat or banter and was selected as the company name for the same reason. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026

For cruise passengers, that means more opportunities to encounter Indigenous culture, while knowing that Indigenous people are benefiting from the industry. — Karen Gardiner, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Nov. 2026

Adjective

That cute little feral furball was mean as hell and bit, scratched, and ultimately abandoned the family. — Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

In the abstract, Aydin and Dorofeyeva reported live birth rates of 40% or higher for IVF plus MRT among 66 patients with a mean age of 39. — Megan Molteni, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026

Noun

For those of more modest means, a single-day standard ticket will get you into any one of the public days for $92—one forty-ninth (1/49th) the price of the Premium Discovery pass. — News Desk, Artforum, 6 Nov. 2026

Supporters claim the measure creates a fairer tax code by aligning rates with taxpayers' financial means, while also helping fund public services as the state faces budget shortfalls. — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026

Phrases Containing mean

• golden mean