Synonyms

bemean

American

[bih-meen] / bɪˈmin /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

bemeaned, bemeaning

to make mean; demean; debase (usually used reflexively).

bemean British

/ bɪˈmiːn /

verb

a less common word for demean 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bemean

First recorded in 1645–55; be- + mean ²

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.

I hain't blind and I hain't deef, and I can't holp seein' the way she does, and a hearin' her bemean you about me all the time nearly.

From The Tobacco Tiller A Tale of the Kentucky Tobacco Fields by Hackley, Sarah Bell

“Which you’d best fetch this gentleman a light, Master Antony,” said cook; “for I ain’t going to bemean myself.”

From The Story of Antony Grace by Fenn, George Manville

"Nothing of the kind," cried Lavinia, furious that her mother should think she would so bemean herself.

From Madame Flirt A Romance of 'The Beggar's Opera' by Pearce, Charles Edward

You and me's in different walks of life, and it's my bounden duty to see as you don't bemean yourself.

From The Ffolliots of Redmarley by Harker, L. Allen (Lizzie Allen)

They could scarcely believe that anyone so beautiful and dainty as Betsy Butterfly would bemean herself by robbing Farmer Green—or anybody else.

From The Tale of Betsy Butterfly Tuck-Me-In Tales by Bailey, Arthur Scott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023