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meaner

ADJECTIVE

ungenerous

Synonyms

STRONGEST

greedy selfish

STRONG

close mercenary penny-pinching

WEAK

mingy miserly parsimonious penurious rapacious scrimpy stingy tight tight-fisted

Antonyms

STRONG

generous

WEAK

compassionate extreme kind nice noble polite sympathetic unselfish

ADJECTIVE

hostile, rude

Synonyms

STRONGEST

callous dangerous dirty evil hard malicious nasty rough ugly vicious vile

STRONG

down malign sinking sour touch

WEAK

bad-tempered cantankerous churlish contemptible despicable difficult disagreeable dishonorable formidable hard-nosed ignoble ill-tempered infamous knavish liverish lousy low-down and dirty perfidious pesky rotten rugged scurrilous shameless snide the lowest treacherous troublesome unfriendly unpleasant unscrupulous vexatious

Antonyms

STRONGEST

agreeable clean decent friendly gentle good kind mild moral nice pleasant pleasing safe sensitive sympathetic upright

STRONG

cheerful happy

WEAK

compassionate extreme generous noble polite unselfish

ADJECTIVE

poor; of or in inferior circumstances

Synonyms

STRONGEST

humble miserable petty vulgar

STRONG

base common hack inferior limited low menial narrow obscure ordinary plebeian proletarian

WEAK

beggarly contemptible down-at-heel déclassé ignoble ineffectual insignificant lowborn lowly mediocre modest paltry pitiful run-down scruffy second-class second-rate seedy servile shabby sordid squalid tawdry undistinguished unwashed wretched

Antonyms

STRONGEST

rich

STRONG

abnormal aristocratic elevated extraordinary high honest moral noble superior uncommon unrestricted

WEAK

compassionate extreme generous kind nice polite sympathetic unselfish

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The meaner the Pistons get, the more their record improves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026

Can Nvidia can maintain its edge in the face of leaner, meaner competition from abroad?

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2025

But in that large ecosystem, built primarily around men shooting different guns at different things, Herrera stands apart from much of the rest—edgier, funnier, meaner.

From Slate • May 28, 2024

So it’s interesting, and more than a little disturbing, to see how Barb turned out—that she’s meaner and slyer than I am, more cherishing of grudges, and not quite as smart as I’d hoped.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich