Lowly
Lowly adjective - Belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank.
Usage example: a tycoon who struggled all his life to overcome his lowly origins
Mean is a synonym for lowly in lowborn topic. In some cases you can use "Mean" instead an adjective "Lowly", when it comes to topics like inferior, plain, over.
Nearby Word: lowliness
Mean
Mean adjective - Belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank.
Usage example: Alexander Hamilton seems to have had feelings of inferiority because of his mean origins
Lowly is a synonym for mean in plain topic. You can use "Lowly" instead an adjective "Mean", if it concerns topics such as poor, lowborn, over.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- On the other hand this doesn't necessarily mean the inexperience, but rather the lowly, underappreciated and overworked status of the position.
Source: Ensign Newbie - In the Chivalric Romance Robert of Cisyle, the king makes the boast that when God humbles the proud and exalts the lowly, it doesn't mean him.
Source: Fallen Princess
Cite this Source
Mean and Lowly. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/lowly/mean
Lowly & Mean. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/lowly/mean>.
Mean or Lowly. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/lowly/mean.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "lowly" and "mean" have occurred on timeline