meanly
1 Americanadverb
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in a poor, lowly, or humble manner.
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in a base, contemptible, selfish, or shabby manner.
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in a stingy or miserly manner.
adverb
Etymology
Origin of meanly1
First recorded in 1350–1400, meanly is from the Middle English word meneli. See mean 2, -ly
Origin of meanly2
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at mean 3, -ly
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.
“They are cowardly and meanly hiding his body, refusing to give it to his mother and lying miserably,” she said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2024
I didn’t say it meanly, but it was like, I want to shake some hands and enjoy this moment.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2022
Now there's an undertone of dread that we could "meanly lose, the last best hope of earth," as Abraham Lincoln warned.
From Salon • May 16, 2021
I replied, perhaps a little meanly, that this was a star of declining wattage.
From The Guardian • Dec. 22, 2018
He was smiling, exhilarated, liberated and meanly enjoying a weapon he did not know lay in his arsenal.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
