meanly
/'mi:nli/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adverb:
- In a miserly or stingy manner: Acting with a lack of generosity; in a way that shows unwillingness to spend money or share resources.
- Poorly or in an inferior manner: In a way that is inadequate, of low quality, or insufficient.
- In a despicable or ignoble manner: Behaving in a way that shows a lack of honor, dignity, or moral principles; contemptibly.
- In a nasty, ill-tempered manner: Speaking or acting in an unkind, spiteful, or malicious way.
Usage Examples
- In a miserly manner:
- He lived meanly, saving every penny and never treating himself.
- The landlord meanly refused to fix the heating, despite the cold winter.
- Poorly or in an inferior manner:
- The soldiers were meanly equipped, lacking proper boots and warm clothing.
- The room was meanly furnished with just a bed and a chair.
- In a despicable manner:
- He meanly betrayed his closest friend for personal gain.
- The politician meanly spread lies about his opponent.
- In a nasty, ill-tempered manner:
- "You'll get no help from me," she said meanly, turning her back.
- The critic meanly dismissed the artist's entire life's work.
Advanced Usage
- "to think meanly of someone": to have a low or contemptuous opinion of a person.
- After the scandal, many began to think meanly of the once-respected CEO.
- "to live meanly": to live in a frugal, often excessively stingy way, sometimes implying a lack of dignity.
- Despite his wealth, he chose to live meanly in a small, unheated apartment.
Variants and Related Words
- Mean (adjective): Unkind, nasty, or stingy. (e.g., )
- Meanness (noun): The quality of being mean. (e.g., )
Synonyms
- Stingily: In a miserly way.
- Contemptibly: In a despicable manner.
- Spitefully: In a nasty, malicious manner.
- Shabbily: In a poor or inferior way.
Related Phrases
- To act meanly: To behave in a stingy, nasty, or dishonorable way.
- He acted meanly by taking credit for his colleague's idea.
- To speak meanly: To say something in a nasty or ill-tempered way.
- She spoke meanly to the waiter over a minor mistake.
Idioms
- To be meanly born: (Archaic) To be of low social origin.
- In the old story, the knight, though meanly born, proved himself through bravery.
Adverb
- in a miserly manner
- they lived meanly and without ostentation
- poorly or in an inferior manner
- troops meanly equipped
- in a despicable, ignoble manner
- this new leader meanly threatens the deepest values of our society
- in a nasty ill-tempered manner
- `Don't expect me to help you,' he added nastily