Synonyms of mean
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as in to signify 
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as in to matter
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as in to intend
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as in to indicate
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as in middle
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as in doing
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as in ministry
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as in worth
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as in average
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as in low
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as in stingy
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as in cruel
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as in dirty
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as in inferior
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as in awesome
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as in dilapidated
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as in lame
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1
as in to signify
to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind
the national anthem means various things to various people
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Relevance
2
as in to matter
to be of importance
your presence at my graduation would mean a lot to me
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3
as in to intend
to have in mind as a purpose or goal
I mean to win this race
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1
as in middle
a middle point between extremes
that candidate's moderate views were seen as the mean that voters were looking for
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2
as in doing
means plural
an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result
won the competition by fair and honest means
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3
as in ministry
means plural
something used to achieve an end
the ends don't justify the means
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4
as in worth
means plural
the total of one's money and property
a woman of considerable means
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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?
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1
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
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2
as in stingy
giving or sharing as little as possible
a mean child who hoarded all her toys
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3
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
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4
as in dirty
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
a mean trick to play on a trusting person
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5
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
it's no mean feat to memorize that long poem
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6
as in awesome
of the very best kind
I'm a mean dancer, so you could do worse than go to the prom with me
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7
as in dilapidated
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
he worked hard to escape the mean neighborhood of his youth
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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
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of mean
Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
Making the right call means exercising expert judgment, which means more than just following the rules.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Packing means putting the majority of a political party into a district or two, Ouyang said, and cracking means splitting up a political party into smaller segments of a majority party district.
—Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
There aren’t many actors, after all, who can convincingly play both sad-sack real estate salesman Shelly Levene in a Broadway production of Glengarry Glen Ross and a lean, mean killing machine.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mean
Verb
That meant two more playoff berths were available entering the regular-season finale.
—Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
Making the right call means exercising expert judgment, which means more than just following the rules.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
Noun
By any means necessary, perhaps? Much of the book is like this, with one-sentence paragraphs surrounded by white space, somewhat in the manner of an Instagram post.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Packing means putting the majority of a political party into a district or two, Ouyang said, and cracking means splitting up a political party into smaller segments of a majority party district.
—Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Down these mean streets of Bakersfield, California, a woman must go, who is not herself mean, who is neither tarnished (well, a little self-admittedly tarnished) nor afraid.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
There aren’t many actors, after all, who can convincingly play both sad-sack real estate salesman Shelly Levene in a Broadway production of Glengarry Glen Ross and a lean, mean killing machine.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mean
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mean
Verb
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However, the move toward Beijing does not signify a fundamental reshaping of India’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific, experts said.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
20 Aug. 2025
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Tech leaders like Amazon and Nvidia are investing heavily in AI (paywall) for healthcare, signifying a larger commitment to improving patient care and operational efficiency.—
Trushant Mehta,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Canfield’s response may not have mattered; he was reportedly included in the layoffs several weeks later.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
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Those who intend to walk the entire 5-mile span have to arrange their own return trip to their starting point.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Maxwell pleads ignorance about Epstein's $30 million transfers Blanche asked Maxwell about banking records indicating that Epstein sent her or her entities about $30 million in money over several years.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
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Recent observations of both live and dead armadillos on Indiana roadways indicate this species can be found year-round across the southern half of the State, but Indiana DNR has had reports of armadillo sightings as far north as Porter County (Valparaiso).—
Katie Wiseman,
IndyStar,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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By the time he was traded in the middle of his fourth year, his numbers had dropped off dramatically.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
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Bobby's death came in the middle of a major contagion crisis that pulled the 118 fire department into fatal throes.—
Mekishana Pierre,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Our bodies are not up to us, nor are our possessions, our reputations, or our public offices, or, that is whatever is not our doing.—
Sebastian Purcell
August 18,
Literary Hub,
18 Aug. 2025
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Even Stephen Hawking, who understood black holes better than most understand balance sheets, knew that collaboration between thinking and doing is where magic happens.—
London Business School,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Newsweek has contacted the U.S. State Department as well as Iran and Israel's foreign ministries for comment.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
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The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has temporarily removed a priest from ministry while investigations are conducted into allegations of questionable behavior, the archbishop announced this week.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On average, among the cohort of people studied, being exposed to two years’ worth of heat waves added between eight and 12 days to a person’s biological age.—
Javier Carbajal,
Wired News,
30 Aug. 2025
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Scarcity has no worth unless the object is truly worth it.—
Lilian Raji,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mean. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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