mean
nouns
an average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n
verbs
mean or intend to express or convey
"You never understand what I mean!"; "what do his words intend?"
have as a logical consequence
"The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers"
denote or connote
"`maison' means `house' in French"; "An example sentence would show what this word means"
have in mind as a purpose
"I mean no harm"; "I only meant to help you"; "She didn't think to harm me"; "We thought to return early that night"
have a specified degree of importance
"My ex-husband means nothing to me"; "Happiness means everything"
intend to refer to
"I'm thinking of good food when I talk about France"; "Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!"
destine or designate for a certain purpose
"These flowers were meant for you"
is a type of (narrower)
design or destine
"She was intended to become the director"
adjectives
approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
"the average income in New England is below that of the nation"; "of average height for his age"; "the mean annual rainfall"
characterized by malice
"a hateful thing to do"; "in a mean mood"
is derived from
having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
"that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics"
is derived from
excellent
"famous for a mean backhand"
is similar to
having or showing or requiring special skill
"only the most skilled gymnasts make an Olympic team"; "a skilled surgeon has many years of training and experience"; "a skilled reconstruction of her damaged elbow"; "a skilled trade"
marked by poverty befitting a beggar
"a beggarly existence in the slums"; "a mean hut"
(used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
"a mean person"; "he left a miserly tip"
(used of sums of money) so small in amount as to deserve contempt
is derived from
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