meh

1. 1
   interjectionslang

   A casual exclamation expressing indifference or a lack of enthusiasm about something.

   Meh, the sequel was fine, but nothing I'd ever watch twice.

   He shrugged and muttered meh when they offered him the promotion.

   Similarwhatever

   Note

   The shrug turned into a word. The Simpsons popularized it, first in the 1994 episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts", though the word goes back to 1928 and may come from Yiddish me, "so-so". It is slang, so keep it to casual talk, and it usually stands alone as a whole reply. It can also be treated as a thing, as in mankind's giant "meh", which shades into the noun for an indifferent verdict.

2. 2
   adjective

   Mediocre and uninspiring; neither good enough to praise nor bad enough to dismiss.

   Critics found the album meh, full of safe choices and no real risks.

   The hotel was meh: clean enough, but nothing about it stood out.

   Similarmediocre, so-so, unremarkable, average, forgettable

   Note

   An adjective that usually comes after the verb: the first song was meh, the rest was meh at best. It belongs to the casual review of a concert, a singing contest or a wrestling broadcast, where it marks something as not worth a stronger verdict. It compares with more and most (more meh, most meh). The word's history is told under the shrugging interjection.

3. 3
   adjective

   Apathetic and unenthusiastic; lacking interest or energy toward something.

   He's been meh about work lately, just going through the motions.

   Honestly, I'm meh on the whole idea and can't get excited about it.

   Similarindifferent, apathetic, unenthusiastic, lukewarm

   Oppositeenthusiastic, keen, eager

   Note

   Here the flatness belongs to the person, not the thing. The "mediocre" meaning grades a show or a song, while this one reports a mood, and it travels with feel: feeling meh, leaves me feeling meh, feeling meh toward video games. If feeling fits in front of it, you are describing how someone feels, not how good something is.

4. 4
   nouncolloquialcountable

   An indifferent reaction or verdict; a response showing the thing made little impression.

   The film earned a collective meh from audiences who had expected more.

   His review was one long meh about a restaurant everyone else adored.

   Similarshrug

5. 5
   particleManglishSinglishinterrogative

   A word placed at the end of a question to express doubt or skepticism about what was said.

   You think he'll actually show up on time, meh?

   This is supposed to be the cheapest shop in town, meh?

   Note

   A different word that happens to share the spelling. Singlish and Manglish took it from a Cantonese particle that marks doubtful yes–no questions, and it owes nothing to The Simpsons. It goes at the very end of a statement and turns it into a skeptical challenge: "Really meh?" or "Nice meh?" It belongs to colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English, alongside particles like leh.

6. 6
   interjectionManglishSinglish

   The bleating cry made by a sheep or goat.

   Somewhere in the barn a lone sheep called meh into the dark.

   The young goats answered meh whenever their keeper walked past.

   Similarmaa

   Note

   Pure imitation of a sound, unrelated to the shrugging interjection, with maa as an alternative. Writers stretch the vowel and pile up letters to taste: Amanda Craig's The Lie of the Land (2017) has Mehh, Meeehh and Meh-meh. It can even become a verb, as with the goat "mehhing happily" in Heather Blake's A Witch to Remember (2020).

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