mince
To make less; to make smallTo make less; to make small.
» Tom doesn't mince words.
Tom nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund.
Том прямолінійний.
Том говорить те, що думає.
Meaning
9 senses(transitive)To make less; to make small.
make less severe or harsh
(transitive)To lessen; to diminish; to diminish in speaking; to speak of lightly or slightingly; to minimise.
(rare, transitive)To effect mincingly.
(transitive)To cut into very small pieces; to chop finely.
Butchers often use machines to mince meat.
hacken, wolfen, kleinhacken
кроши́тьkrošítʹ
cut into small pieces
To say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly).
to mince one's words
a minced oath
(transitive)To affect; to pronounce affectedly or with an accent.
(intransitive)To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.
trippeln
семенитьsemenitʹ
(intransitive)To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner.
I love going to gay bars and seeing drag queens mince around on stage.
(archaic, figuratively, transitive)To suppress or weaken the force of.
abschwächen, unterdrücken, mildern
преуменьша́тьpreumenʹšátʹ
Examples
38 sentencesTom doesn't mince words.
Том прямолінійний.
deTom nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund.
I don't mince words.
Я говорю те, що думаю.
deIch nehme mir kein Blatt vor den Mund.
Tom did not mince his words.
Tom doesn't mince his words.
Tom didn't mince his words.
deTom nahm sich kein Blatt vor den Mund.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 3
By meaning 3
Origin
From Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make lFrom Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make less, make smaller, diminish”), from Proto-West Germanic *minnisōn, from Proto-Germanic *minnisōną (“to make less”); partly from Old French mincer, mincier (“to cut into small pieces”), from mince (“slender, slight, puny”), from Frankish *minsto, *minnisto, superlative of *min, *minn (“small, less”), from Proto-Germanic *minniz (“less”); both from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Saxon minsōn (“to make less, make smaller”), Old Dutch minson (“to make smaller”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽 (minznan, “to become less, diminish”), Swedish minska (“to reduce, lessen”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins, “slender, slight”). More at min.
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Forms
minces, mincing, minced, mincedSynonyms
24 synonymsWord family
8 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle