1
as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
meanly silent up to that point, he now felt that fair criticism was turning into gratuitous insult
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in despitefully
in a mean or spiteful manner
in a meanly worded letter she told me that she never wanted to see me again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of meanly
Kardashian was in court to share new details from a horrific assault in the name of seeking justice; to comment meanly on her outfit would have been a weird move.
—
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
At Artnet, Walter assembled a motley crew of writers, including the unstoppable Charlie Finch, who would meanly attack everyone.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
Fearing the sentimental, my nature is to end things meanly.
—Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The third point in this tinderbox triangle of frenemyship is Elena, a girl in their class whom Jana side-eyes meanly for her reputation for being easy, who uploads twerking selfies to social media and who also buzzes around school jock Kris.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 1 Sep. 2021
Later visits from the Galileo mission confirmed this very active volcanism on Io, with surface lava temperatures of 1250-1450C, meanly likely ultramafic compositions (komaiites - very low silica content, below 45 weight % and rare on Earth).
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2011
Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025
At Artnet, Walter assembled a motley crew of writers, including the unstoppable Charlie Finch, who would meanly attack everyone.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
Fearing the sentimental, my nature is to end things meanly.
—Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2024
The third point in this tinderbox triangle of frenemyship is Elena, a girl in their class whom Jana side-eyes meanly for her reputation for being easy, who uploads twerking selfies to social media and who also buzzes around school jock Kris.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 1 Sep. 2021
Later visits from the Galileo mission confirmed this very active volcanism on Io, with surface lava temperatures of 1250-1450C, meanly likely ultramafic compositions (komaiites - very low silica content, below 45 weight % and rare on Earth).
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meanly
Adverb
-
While skiing in the Dolomites, I was humbly reminded that most hotel rooms in Italy don’t have coffee makers.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Greenidge puts her aims even more humbly.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In other words, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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But Kane didn’t make that shirt and politely declined to comment on it.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The experience was, politely stated, a rocky one.—
Jeff Pearlman,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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An engineer with a litter-picker grabbed the fallen cloth and sheepishly moved it behind the machine, out of my line of sight.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
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In Inwood, even a pair of volunteers for Cuomo sheepishly stopped him for selfies.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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The other claimed former special counsel Jack Smith prosecuted him maliciously and that his privacy rights were violated when the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents in August 2022.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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The second claim, which was previously reported publicly last year, related to accusations that he was prosecuted maliciously by then-special counsel Jack Smith and that his privacy rights were violated when the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents in August of 2022.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Princess Bride is superbly planned and deferentially orchestrated — its theme fits its telling.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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The federal government shutdown enters its 21st day – headed toward its fourth week – as Democrats and Republicans remain bitterly divided over how to resolve rising health care costs.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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Taylor makes a persuasive case for how artists can grow, if incrementally and maybe bitterly, amid so much numbing digital noise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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Well, after years of stuttering, pausing, juddering, waiting for the goalkeeper to dive and then rolling spot kicks meekly into the net, Nick Woltemade may have just reversed the trend.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Meanly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meanly. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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