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.

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)

To dream that you have a wooden leg, denotes that you will bemean yourself in a false way to your friends.

From Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, or what's in a dream: a scientific and practical exposition by Miller, Gustavus Hindman

If I wanted to bemean myself, could n't I cast up somethin' you would n't like to be minded of?

From Such Is Life by Furphy, Joseph

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

"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

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