Advertisement
Advertisement
mongrel
[muhng-gruhl, mong-]
noun
a dog of mixed or indeterminate breed.
Synonyms:any animal or plant resulting from the crossing of different breeds or varieties.
Synonyms: ,Antonyms: ,any cross between different things, especially if inharmonious or indiscriminate.
adjective
of mixed breed, nature, or origin; of or like a mongrel.
mongrel
/ ˈʌŋɡə /
noun
a plant or animal, esp a dog, of mixed or unknown breeding; a crossbreed or hybrid
tabooa person of mixed race
sport toughness and physical aggression
a tall southpaw with plenty of mongrel
adjective
of mixed origin, breeding, character, etc
Other 51Թ Forms
- mongrelism noun
- mongrelness noun
- mongrelly adverb
- ˈDzԲ noun
- ˈDzԲ adjective
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of mongrel1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Bruce, "the rescue centre mongrel", sadly died from the tumour at the age of 12.
They have not yet missed Stuart Broad's bowling because of how few pacemen have been chosen on the tour, but they have missed his mongrel.
Not so much dog days as the mongrel years.
Lee Williams, who lives just down the road, can’t believe the government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to protect what he considers “a mongrel.”
They embraced this biracial heritage with their name, Azkals, a local slang for a mongrel or half-breed dog.
Advertisement
When To Use
The word mongrel is most commonly used to refer to a dog that’s a mix of breeds or whose breed is unknown. It’s used in the same way as the word mutt, and, like mutt, can be negative or ironically affectionate. However, mongrel is also a racist slur applied to people who are considered to be or who identify as mixed-race. The racist slur half-breed is used in the same way. Even when it’s applied to a person without regard to race, mongrel can still carry racist connotations, namely the implication that such a person’s behavior is like that of people whom racists consider inferior. Less commonly, mongrel is applied to animals other than dogs (and other living things, like plants) to indicate that they are a result of crossbreeding. It has traditionally also been used in more general ways (as both a noun and an adjective) in reference to anything that’s the result of combining multiple unlike sources, as in English is a mongrel language. Such uses are usually derogatory, implying that such things are impure or deficient. The word hybrid is a neutral way to describe plants and animals that are a result of crossbreeding or, in the case of nonliving things, some kind of combination.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse
