mien

[ meen ]

/ min /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for mien on Thesaurus.com

noun

air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.: a man of noble mien.

OTHER WORDS FOR mien

appearance, look; carriage.

See synonyms for mien on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of mien

1505–15; probably aphetic variant of obsolete demean bearing, demean²; spelled with -ie- to distinguish it from mean²

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mien

mean, mien

Words nearby mien

midwinter, midyear, M.I.E., mielie, Mielziner, mien, Mieres, Mie scattering, Mies van der Rohe, mifepristone, miff

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mien in a sentence

Scott, who rode the Tea Party wave into office in 2010, had a much different mien.
Rick Scott & Rick Perry: A Tale of Two Ricks in Palm Beach|Daniel Gross|April 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Elegant, minimally clad mannequins view passersby with an arrogant mien.
Gay Syrian Blogger a Hoax?|Asne Seierstad|June 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In contrast to the serious, scholarly mien that cloaks her usual nonfiction, this book is rich with poetry and pathos.
Antonia Fraser on Her Wild Marriage|Amanda Foreman|November 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST
With their muscled gender-obliterating mien, they compelled few people to listen as they performed.
King of the Hollywood Hedonists|Robert Hofler|February 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Santa Cruz embraced him, with more agitation than his stately mien might have announced.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The priest of Nicaragua with solemn mien strides up the aisle and lights the altar candles with the fire struck from his cigar.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
He rose too, and across the table he confronted his guest, his mien haughty, his eyes imperious.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
His mien was terrific, and his voice the more threatening in that it was not raised above a whisper.
Mistress Wilding|Rafael Sabatini
Unfortunately all this paper does not feed him; and he is so thin, has such a mien, that you ask yourself on what he lives.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for mien

mien

/ (miːn) /

noun

literary a person's manner, bearing, or appearance, expressing personality or mooda noble mien

Word Origin for mien

C16: probably variant of obsolete demean appearance; related to French mine aspect

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

mien

OTHER WORDS FOR mien

Origin of mien

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mien

Words nearby mien

Words related to mien

How to use mien in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mien

Word Origin for mien