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

Princess Plus® includes Wi-Fi and drinks, and also covers crew appreciation—which means the crew taking care of you is taken care of, too. — Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2026

This means that they should not be read as direct tests of Jung’s original theory. — Paul Jones, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2026

Adjective

His character is a severe, hectoring figure; his lessons amount to an exhortation to be as mean as possible when money is concerned. — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026

The Nuggets need to get younger, longer and meaner around that veteran trio, and ASAP. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Aug. 2026

Noun

But flying private means customers dictate the schedule and destination. — Elliott Harrell, Travel + Leisure, 3 Sep. 2026

Duties on wood products including plywood and softwood lumber mean sourcing those products is more expensive and can drive up the cost of new construction. — Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026

Phrases Containing mean

• golden mean