mien
Americannoun
-
miens
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mien
1505–15; probably aphetic variant of obsolete demean bearing, demean 2; spelled with -ie- to distinguish it from mean 2
Explanation
Your mien is how you present yourself, the impression you make. It's best to keep a low profile but a dignified mien. The source of the word mien is not completely clear, but it does involve a French word for "facial expression." A person's mien is a look or quality that tells a lot about their personalities or temperaments. A person with a cheerful mien probably radiates happiness and energy, while someone with a serious mien may have an air of being lost in thought.
Vocabulary lists containing mien
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Raven"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Efforts to replicate the former president’s mien can also risk coming off like imitation—or, worse, parody.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
His briefcase-carrying mien made Jackie think he was a lawyer, and we learn he graduated from Harvard but dropped out of law school as “an act of personal protest,” or so he claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Horvath’s Midwestern mien, unflagging politeness and warm smile belie her fierce ambition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
It captures some of the inquisitive humanity that Steinmetz, a tall and direct people’s person with a John Malkovich mien, conveys in life.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2024
He tried to maintain his usual breezy mien, but it often cracked, producing outbursts of temper over even minor problems.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Played with hangdog miens by the gifted Mr. Dossett and Mr. Sills, these men soon betray their bosses and switch sides.
From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2016
The cheerful, demonstrative callowness of Herring’s Joey makes for an apt-enough contrast with the miens of the older figures, and Carpenter’s Mark is a sensitive, thoughtful foil to everyone else.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2015
Here were traditional outsiders, some of them outspoken victims of childhood bullying, who, twenty years ago, were dismissed by the jock establishment for bringing their alternative fashion sense and disaffected miens to an Olympic-style competition.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 17, 2014
Instead sharp beaks, rough-hewed black feathers and wary miens define the latest creations from Handspring Puppet Company: crows, a far cry from the majestic title creatures in “War Horse,” a hit here and on Broadway.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2012
Their manners and miens reflected the Spartan personal discipline the organization demanded, and none of them would utter anything but Nation of Islam cliches.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
