meanie
noun (a meanie, meanies); also meany
Everyday
- (informal) A meanie is a person who is unkind, selfish or not generous, said in a childish or playful way. tree →
- It is often used by young children or as a joke: «Don't be a meanie, share your sweets!» tree →
In the lessons
In playground talk, picture books and family jokes. It is gentle and not a serious insult. Phrases: «don't be a meanie», «big meanie», «you meanie!»
Examples
- Don't be a meanie, let me have a turn! tree →
- My brother is a big meanie; he ate all the cake. tree →
- You meanie, you hid my shoes! tree →
- The meanie in the story stole the toys. tree →
- Dad pretended to be a meanie and said no more biscuits. tree →
- She called me a meanie, then laughed. tree →
- Nobody likes a meanie. tree →
- Stop being a meanie and invite her to play. tree →
Note
Informal and childish; not for formal writing. Plural meanies. Sometimes spelled «meany». It comes from «mean», which here means unkind (not the maths «mean»).
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «meanie» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «meanie» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/meanie/