Mince
[mɪns]
Definition
(noun.) food chopped into small bits; 'a mince of mushrooms'.
(verb.) make less severe or harsh; 'He moderated his tone when the students burst out in tears'.
(verb.) cut into small pieces; 'mince the garlic'.
(verb.) walk daintily; 'She minced down the street'.
Editor: Stanton--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine; to hash; as, to mince meat.
(v. t.) To suppress or weaken the force of; to extenuate; to palliate; to tell by degrees, instead of directly and frankly; to clip, as words or expressions; to utter half and keep back half of.
(v. t.) To affect; to make a parade of.
(v. i.) To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.
(v. i.) To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner.
(n.) A short, precise step; an affected manner.
Typed by Leona
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Hash, cut into small pieces.[2]. Extenuate, palliate, be mealy-mouthed about, be reserved in speaking of.
v. n. Affect delicacy.
Typist: Natalie
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Attenuate, comminute, palliate, extenuate
ANT:Exaggerate, amplify, magnify
Edited by Julia
Definition
v.t. to cut into small pieces: to chop fine: to diminish or suppress a part in speaking: to pronounce affectedly.—v.i. to walk with affected nicety: to speak affectedly:—pr.p. minc′ing; pa.p. minced (minst).—ns. Mince′-meat meat chopped small—hence anything thoroughly broken or cut to pieces; Mince′-pie a pie made with minced meat &c.—adj. Minc′ing not speaking fully out: speaking or walking with affected nicety.—adv. Minc′ingly.—Mince matters to speak of things with affected delicacy or to soften an account unduly.—Minced collops (see Collops).
Checker: Lorrie
Examples
- I don't mince words--a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer, who meant to have his son-in-law back all along. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- A handsome mince-pie had been made yesterday morning (which accounted for the mincemeat not being missed), and the pudding was already on the boil. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- You mince matters to an uncommon nicety. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I fancy she was wanted about the mince-pies. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Vere does the mince-pies go, young opium-eater? Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- I didn't mince the matter with him. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Monsieur a parle de vous: il m'a demande le nom de ma gouvernante, et si elle n'etait pas une petite personne, assez mince et un peu pale. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- There's the Mincing Lane establishment, and there's your mother's Academy. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I know no language, he said, but my own, and a few words of their mincing Norman. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Simultaneously with this discovery on her part, her father discovered her, and invoked the echoes of Mincing Lane to exclaim 'My gracious me! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Well, what's the use of mincing matters? Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- I suppose sense in certain quarters; you suppose mincing bread-and-butter nonsense. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Both the Mr. Bludyers of Mincing Lane have settled their fortunes on Fanny Bludyer's little boy. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I used to think that of Mr. Crowse, with his empty face and neat umbrella, and mincing little speeches. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The tale is that he who has tasted the entrails of a single human victim minced up with the entrails of other victims is destined to become a wolf. Plato. The Republic.
- The wife minced a bit of meat, then crumbled some bread on a trencher, and placed it before me. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
Checked by Jessie