Words / C2

MEEN/miːn/

Mien is a person’s bearing or look as a sign of mood (literary): a calm mien, a severe mien. Manner and expression are everyday; demeanour (already in the dictionary) is the closest cousin. Mean is the lookalike verb/adjective. Mine is a pronoun or a pit. Do not use mien in a methods section.

Meaning

A person’s appearance or manner, especially as a sign of mood (literary).

Examples

• “His calm mien did not match the deleted folder.”
• “His calm mien did not match the deleted shared folder.”
• “Demeanour is the exam-friendly cousin; mien is more literary. Mix-ups: mean / mine. Keep it out of “procedure”.”

Good to know

Bearing; the look of a person (literary). Close: demeanour. Everyday: manner / expression. Mix-ups: mean, mine. Not methods prose.

Near in meaning

demeanour

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