mean
What does ‘Halloween’ mean ? – Was bedeutet „Halloween“?
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
mean (verb)transitive verb
1.
a) to have in the mind as a purpose - intend she means to win sometimes used interjectionally with I, chiefly in informal speech for emphasis he throws, I mean, hard or to introduce a phrase restating the point of a preceding phrase we try to answer what we can, but I mean we're not God Bobbie Ann Mason
b) to design for or to a specified purpose or future - destine I was meant to teach
2.
to serve or intend to , show, or indicate - convey signify a red sky means rain
3.
to have importance to the degree of - health means everything
4.
intransitive verb
to direct to a particular individual to have an intended purpose - he means well
1.
lacking distinction or - eminence humble
2.
lacking in mental - discrimination dull
3.
a) of poor shabby inferior quality or status - mean city streets
b) worthy of little regard - contemptible often used in negative constructions as a term of praise no mean feat
4.
lacking dignity or honor - base
5.
a) - penurious stingy
b) characterized by selfishness or malice - petty
c) causing trouble or bother - vexatious
d) - excellent effective plays a mean trumpet a lean, mean athlete
6.
- ashamed
1.
occupying a middle position in space, order, time, kind, or degree - intermediate
2.
occupying a position about between extremes - midway , especially being the mean of a set of values - (see mean) average the mean temperature
3.
serving as a - means intermediary average
1.
a) (1) something or intermediate - intervening
(2) a middle point between extremes
b) a value that lies within a range of values and is according to a prescribed law as - computed
(1) - arithmetic mean
(2) - expected value
c) either of the middle two terms of a - proportion
2.
something useful or helpful to a desired end
3.
resources available for disposal , especially material resources a secure life - affording
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
mean (adjective)being about midway between extremes of amount or size
SYNONYMS:
average, intermediate, mean, median, medium, middling, midsize ( midsized), moderate, modestRELATED WORDS:
reasonable; common, commonplace, conventional, normal, popular, regular, routine, standard, typical, usual; adequate, passable, tolerableNEAR ANTONYMS:
excessive, extreme; exceptional, rare, strange, uncommon, unusual; distinctive, idiosyncratic, special, unique; individual, peculiar, private1.
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
SYNONYMS:
baseborn, common, humble, inferior, low, lowborn, lower-class, low-life, lowly, lumpen, mean, plebeian, prole, proletarian, unwashed, vulgarRELATED WORDS:
bourgeois, middle-class; plain, poor, simple, working-class; déclassé, down-market, downscaleNEAR ANTONYMS:
eminent, illustrious, notable, prominent2.
giving or sharing as little as possible
SYNONYMS:
cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerousRELATED WORDS:
careful, chary, conserving, economical, economizing, frugal, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrifty; acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, greedy, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious, selfish, shabby, small, sordid; begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful; inhospitableNEAR ANTONYMS:
altruistic, selfless, unselfish; extravagant, free, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse; beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic ( philanthropical); compassionate, good-hearted, greathearted, kindly, magnanimous, openhearted; thriftless, unthrifty; dissipating, frittering, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, splurging, squandering, wasteful, wasting3.
having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it
SYNONYMS:
bad, bitchy, catty, cruel, despiteful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful, vicious, virulentRELATED WORDS:
devious, scoundrelly, scurvy, snakelike; acrimonious, bitter, envious, jaundiced, jealous, rancorous, resentful, vindictive, vitriolic; contemptuous, deprecating, derogatory, disdainful, disparaging, mean-spirited, obnoxious, opprobrious, scornful, snide, snotty, unkind, unkindly, unloving; baleful, baneful, evil; harsh, hostile, inimical; acrid, caustic, poisonous, scathing, venomousNEAR ANTONYMS:
compassionate, good, good-hearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly, sympathetic, warm, warmhearted; affable, agreeable, amiable, cordial, friendly, genial, gracious, nice, pleasant; affectionate, amorous, sweet, tender, tenderhearted; humane; altruistic, high-minded, humanitarian, magnanimous, noble, philanthropic ( philanthropical)4.
not following or in accordance with standards of honor and decency
SYNONYMS:
base, contemptible, currish, despicable, detestable, dirty, dishonorable, execrable, ignominious, low, low-down, low-minded, mean, nasty, paltry, snide, sordid, vile, wretchedRELATED WORDS:
bad, black, evil, foul, immoral, iniquitous, miscreant, wicked, wrong; cruel, vicious; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; corrupt, debased, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissolute, perverted; atrocious, villainous; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous; discreditable, disgraceful, disreputable, shameful, unworthyNEAR ANTONYMS:
ethical, honest, just, principled, righteous, right-minded, scrupulous; commendable, excellent, exemplary, good, moral, right; decent, proper, reputable, respectable, seemly; blameless, guiltless; incorruptible, irreproachable; uncorrupted, unerring5.
of little or less value or merit
SYNONYMS:
mean, minor, secondary, second-class, second-rateRELATED WORDS:
junior, lesser, lower, low-level, petty, smaller, subordinate, under; average, common, fair, middling, ordinary; amiss, bad, defective, unsatisfactory, wrong; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, unacceptable; littler, slighter, smaller; jerkwater, low-rent, one-horse, small-time, two-bitNEAR ANTONYMS:
major, more, primary, senior; choice, exceptional, first-class, first-rate, high-grade, premium, prime, select, selected; acceptable, adequate, sufficient6.
of the very best kind
SYNONYMS:
A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny ( bonnie), boss, brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool, corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope, down, dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous, fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters ( gangbuster), gilt-edged ( gilt-edge), gone, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype, immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous ( marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one ( No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight, par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat, prime, primo, prize, prizewinning, quality, radical, righteous, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping, top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard, wonderfulRELATED WORDS:
acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK ( okay), passable, satisfactory, tolerable; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine; classical, standard, traditionalNEAR ANTONYMS:
bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate7.
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect
SYNONYMS:
beat-up, bombed-out, dilapidated, dog-eared, down-at-the-heels ( down-at-heel down-at-the-heel down-at-heels), dumpy, grungy, mangy, mean, miserable, moth-eaten, neglected, ratty, run-down, scrubby, scruffy, seedy, sleazy, tacky, tatterdemalion, tatty, threadbare, timeworn, tumbledownRELATED WORDS:
abandoned, uncared-for, unkept; desolate, forlorn, godforsaken; broken-down, decrepit, tired, worn-out; bedraggled, dingy, ragged, tattered; decaying, deteriorated, deteriorating, rackety, ramshackle, rattletrap, rickety, tumbledown; broken, damaged, destroyed, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, ruined, wreckedNEAR ANTONYMS:
brand-new, fresh, new; cared-for, kept-up, maintained; mended, patched, rebuilt, reconstructed; smart, spiffy, spruce8.
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
SYNONYMS:
cheap, cruddy, deplorable, despicable, dirty, grubby, lame, lousy, mean, nasty, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, ratty, scabby, scummy, scurvy, sneaking, sorry, wretchedRELATED WORDS:
abhorrent, abominable, condemnable, detestable, execrable, hateful, loathsome, odious; disgusting, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive; discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, ignominious, shameful; base, ignoble, low, shabby, sordid, squalid, vile; blamable, censurable, reprehensible, reproachable; cowardly, craven, dastardly; unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulousNEAR ANTONYMS:
high-minded, honest, honorable, noble, principled, redoubtable, reputable, right-minded, scrupulous, upright; ethical, good, moral, right, righteous, virtuous1.
a middle point between extremes
SYNONYMS:
golden mean, medium, middle, middle ground, midpointRELATED WORDS:
arithmetic mean, average; median, norm, par, standardNEAR ANTONYMS:
maximum, utmost; minimuman action planned or taken to achieve a desired result
SYNONYMS:
expedient, means, move, shift, stepRELATED WORDS:
act, action, deed, doing, feat, thing; course, procedure, proceeding, process; accomplishment, achievement, attainment, coup, exploit, success, triumph; activity, affair, business, dealing, enterprise, event; attempt, crack, endeavor, essay, fling, go, initiative, operation, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, undertaking, whack; effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, while, work; project, proposal, proposition; makeshift, resort, resource, stopgap; countermeasure, countermove, counterstepsomething used to achieve an end
SYNONYMS:
agency, instrument, instrumentality, machinery, means, medium, ministry, organ, vehicleRELATED WORDS:
determinant, expedient, factor, influence, ingredient, mechanism, tool; weapon; activator, animator, catalyst, driver, energizer, executor, generator, impetus, incentive, inspiration, instigation, instigator, launcher, mover, power, stimulus, trigger; antecedent, cause, occasion, reason; subagency, subagentthe total of one's money and property
SYNONYMS:
assets, capital, fortune, means, opulence, riches, substance, wherewithal, worthRELATED WORDS:
belongings, chattels, effects, holdings, paraphernalia, possessions, things; bankroll, deep pockets, finances, funds, money, wallet; abundance, affluence, prosperity, success; treasure, valuables; accession, acquisition, personal property, personalty, property; nest egg, reserve, resources, savings, treasuryNEAR ANTONYMS:
debts, liabilities; indebtedness1.
to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind
SYNONYMS:
denote, express, import, intend, signify, spellRELATED WORDS:
connote, imply, suggest; add up (to), amount (to); hint, infer, insinuate, intimate; embody, epitomize, personify, represent, symbol, symbolize; advert, allude (to), cite, instance, mention, refer (to), specify, touch (on upon); designate, indicate, point (to), signal; announce, declare, proclaim; elucidate, explain2.
to be of importance
SYNONYMS:
count, import, mean, signify, weighRELATED WORDS:
affect, concern, influence, sway; add up (to), amount (to)3.
to have in mind as a purpose or goal
SYNONYMS:
aim, allow, aspire, calculate, contemplate, design, go, look, mean, meditate, plan, propose, purport, purposeRELATED WORDS:
dream, hope, wish; consider, debate, mull (over), ponder; attempt, endeavor, strive, struggle, try; plot, scheme; accomplish, achieve, effect, execute, perform4.
to serve as a sign or symptom of
SYNONYMS:
bespeak, betoken, denote, mean, point (to), signify, tell (of)RELATED WORDS:
bode, foreshow, foretell, presage