Standard Lemma guide

meanness

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: M IY1 N N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition, or quality, of being mean (any of its definitions)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A mean act.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

extreme stinginess

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: minginess, niggardliness, niggardness, parsimony, parsimoniousness, tightness, tightfistedness, closeness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stinginess

Narrower terms: pettiness, littleness, smallness, miserliness

4

noun

Meaning 4

the quality of being deliberately mean

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beastliness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: malevolence, malevolency, malice

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English mean Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English meanness From mean + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: низост (nizost) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Bulgarian: подлост (podlost) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Dutch: gemeenheid — the condition or quality of being mean
  • French: radinerie — the condition or quality of being mean
  • French: pingrerie — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Greek: αχρειότητα (achreiótita) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Irish: cneámhaireacht — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Irish: suarachas — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Italian: grettezza — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Italian: meschinità — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Italian: taccagneria — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Japanese: 卑劣 (hiretsu) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Japanese: 下劣 (geretsu) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Latvian: zemiskums — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Polish: draństwo — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Polish: nikczemność — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Polish: podłość — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Spanish: tacañería — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Ottoman Turkish: رذالت (rezâlet) — the condition or quality of being mean
  • Dutch: gemene daad — a mean act
  • Esperanto: malnoblaĵo — a mean act
  • French: abjection — a mean act
  • German: Gemeinheit — a mean act
  • German: Fiesheit — a mean act
  • German: gemeines Benehmen — a mean act