mixed

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of mix.

   The bartender mixed two juices into a single drink.

   Concrete is mixed on site to keep it from setting too early.

   Note

   Past tense and participle share one spelling, as with any verb built on -ed: she mixed the paint, the paint was mixed. The participle is where the adjectives begin. In mixed concrete, the word sits on the line between verb and the adjective of combined elements. Middle English already had mixid as a participle, while Old English used miscode for the past.

2. 2
   adjective

   Having two or more separate aspects or elements at the same time.

   The committee returned a mixed verdict, praising the goals but doubting the budget.

   Investors had mixed expectations about the quarter ahead.

   Similarambivalent, equivocal, conflicting, contradictory

   Oppositeunequivocal, uniform

   Note

   The adjective has more than one parent. Besides the verb, it was reinforced by French mixte and Latin mixtus, the participle of misceō, which comes from the same ancient root as mix. It is fully gradable (more mixed, most mixed) and settles most easily on abstract nouns, as in a mixed feeling or mixed results.

3. 3
   adjective

   Descending from two or more races or breeds rather than a single one.

   The shelter is full of mixed puppies whose parentage no one can trace.

   Census forms now let people record a mixed heritage.

   Similarcrossbred, hybrid, multiracial, biracial, mongrel

   Oppositepurebred, pedigree

4. 4
   adjective

   Including both males and females rather than one sex alone.

   The tournament added a mixed doubles category this season.

   Most dormitories on campus are now mixed.

   Similarcoed, coeducational

   Oppositesingle-sex

   Note

   Sport and schooling are its home ground: mixed doubles, or a mixed school set against an all-girl grammar school. It reaches beyond those settings, too. In 1983 Gay Community News called itself "the only truly mixed periodical in our community," meaning a paper made by and for gay men and lesbians alike.

5. 5
   adjective

   Drawing both positive and negative responses; polarizing in the reactions it provokes.

   The film opened to mixed notices from critics.

   Her keynote received a mixed reception, energizing some and alienating others.

   Similardivided, polarized, ambivalent

6. 6
   adjective

   Not completely pure; tainted or adulterated by the presence of other substances.

   Assayers rejected the bars as mixed and below standard.

   The fuel was mixed and burned poorly in the engine.

   Similarimpure, adulterated, contaminated, tainted

   Oppositepure, unadulterated

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