Lesser
Lesser adjective - Having not so great importance or rank as another.
Usage example: it was the lesser evil of the two choices
Mean and lesser are semantically related. in subordinate topic. In some cases you can use "Mean" instead an adjective "Lesser".
Both words in one sentence
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The mean, therefore, would be to find Carl Lee guilty, but only of second-degree murder or a lesser charge, and make the punishment as lenient as possible (permanent house arrest, say).
Source: Golden Mean Fallacy -
Harry and Ron are convinced that Snape is evil because...he's mean to Harry (and to a lesser extent, Gryffindors in general) all the time.
Source: Evil Is Petty -
Kicking her out however would mean that Dean would not graduate (and to a lesser extent, Jamie as well), so she finally relented and allowed Dean to graduate.
Source: Series / Canada's Worst Driver
Cite this Source
Mean and Lesser. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/lesser/mean
Lesser & Mean. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/lesser/mean>.
Mean or Lesser. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/lesser/mean.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "lesser" and "mean" have occurred on timeline