What does meanest mean?
Meanest is the superlative of mean in its sense of being unkind, selfish, or contemptible. It describes the most extreme example of a person’s bad behavior, such as a cruel remark, a spiteful act, or an excuse that shows indifference to other people’s needs. The word often carries an emotional charge, suggesting deliberate meanness rather than simple error or misfortune. It is especially common in informal speech, although writers may also use it for emphasis in journalism, reviews, and literary criticism. Meanest should not be confused with the independent adjective mean meaning average or typical: in ordinary usage, meanest almost always refers to the superlative of the unkind sense. When describing someone’s conduct, it conveys both moral judgment and a sense of personal insult.
adjectiveThe superlative of mean: more unkind, selfish, or ungenerous than someone or something else. It can also mean the most petty, spiteful, or contemptible.
- Most unkind, selfish, or ungenerous.
- Most petty, spiteful, or contemptible.
"His excuse for arriving late was the meanest attempt to avoid taking responsibility."
"That was the meanest thing anyone could have said to a grieving friend."
"The company used a mean trick to avoid paying the bill."
Sometimes the smallest lie is more revealing than the biggest one, because it reveals how little a person thinks of you.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of meanest
The adjective mean comes through Old and Middle English from Germanic roots, where its senses included ordinary or general and, by extension, lowly or contemptible. The modern sense of the word developed gradually from these older meanings, with the idea of a person being base or ungenerous becoming established in English. The comparison with Latin-derived words such as malign and benign reflects a related conceptual contrast between bad and good character, although they are not direct inflections of the same form.
Related word forms
How meanest is actually used
Meanest is strongly evaluative and usually informal. In the sense of unkind or contemptible, it is common in speech and informal writing, though it can appear in journalism and literary criticism when the tone permits.
Easily confused with meanest
Mean can describe an unkind or selfish person, while it can also mean average or typical; meanest is the superlative form of the unkind sense in ordinary usage.