frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

equivocating, ambiguous, indirect, unwilling to call a spade a
spade, euphemistic, roundabout, vague, circumlocutory,
periphrastic, hypocritical, deceitful, artful, slick, oily,
unctuous: All you'll get from that mealy-mouthed hypocrite is
platitudinous twaddle.
mean° v. 1 intend, design, purpose, plan, aim, have in mind,
contemplate, have in view; want, wish, expect, hope; be
motivated by, have as justification: I did mean to phone you
but had no time. I am sure she meant nothing by her remark. 2
denote, signify, indicate, note, specify, designate, represent,
betoken, signal, carry, convey, drive at, refer to, allude to,
communicate, express, bring out, get over or across; imply,
suggest, connote, intimate, hint (at): What does 'canicular'
mean? It depends on what you mean by 'liberty'. The footprints
meant that someone had already been here. 3 portend, show,
foretell, foreshadow, promise, presage, augur, herald: Those
clouds mean that it will soon rain. 4 carry or have the weight
or significance or importance of: Money means little to someone
in her circumstances.
meaný adj. 1 stingy, miserly, tight, close, cheap, parsimonious,
penurious, stinting, niggardly, penny-pinching, tight-fisted,
close-fisted, mercenary, uncharitable, ungenerous,
mean-spirited, unaccommodating, small, petty, Colloq near,
money-grubbing, measly, Brit mingy: He is far too mean to buy
anyone a Christmas present. It seems rather a mean contribution
to the fund, given his wealth. 2 lowly, low, base, inferior,
abject, menial, servile, degraded, degenerate, undignified,
ignoble, plebeian, proletarian, modest, humble, common: He rose
to a position of great power in spite of his mean background. 3
disgraceful, run-down, poor, sorry, miserable, scruffy, seedy,
scurvy, shabby, squalid, wretched, vile, mangy, sordid,
contemptible, dismal, dreary, abysmal: They live in very mean
circumstances. 4 unkind, malicious, cruel, unaccommodating,
disobliging: It was very mean of you to steal that toy from the
baby. 5 cantankerous, churlish, nasty, hostile, ill-tempered,
bad-tempered, sour, unpleasant: That mean old lady would never
even talk to us. 6 excellent, wonderful, marvellous, great,
exceptional, effective, skilful, skilled, Slang far-out, US bad:
The saxophonist in that combo is one mean cat.
mean° n. 1 average, middle, norm, (happy) medium: We are attempting