mongrel

Pluralmongrels

1. 1
   mixed-breed dognouncountable

   A person or thing of mixed type or unknown origin, especially a dog of no definite breed.

   The farm's guard dog was a big, rough-coated mongrel with one torn ear.

   Critics dismissed the building as an architectural mongrel, half Gothic church and half shopping mall.

   UsagePlain talk for a dog, close to mutt; used of a person or a people it is usually an insult.

   Similarmutt, cur

   Oppositepurebred

   Note

   The word has belittled its subject from the start: -rel is a scornful ending, and mong meant a mixture, from the same Old English root as among. Of a dog it is plain talk, close to mutt; of a person or a people it is usually a put-down, though a writer can wear it proudly, as Anna Quindlen does in calling America "a mongrel nation". Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Mongrel was formed with a pejorative suffix, supporting its originally belittling character. en.wiktionary.org
   • Mong meant a mixture. en.wiktionary.org
   • Mong and among derive from the same Old English root. en.wiktionary.org
   • Anna Quindlen calls America a mongrel nation. chino.k12.ca.us
2. 2
   mixed originadjective

   Of mixed breed, nature, or origin, in the way a mongrel is.

   Her family's recipes are a mongrel blend of Italian and Mexican cooking.

   The city's mongrel architecture puts glass towers beside old brick warehouses.

   Similarhybrid, mixed

   Oppositepure, purebred

3. 3
   nasty personnounslangCommonwealthIrelandUKcountable

   A thuggish, obnoxious, or contemptible person; also, often as poor mongrel, a person to be pitied.

   Police are hunting the mongrel who robbed a pensioner outside the post office.

   You've got to feel for the poor mongrel; he copped the blame for something he didn't do.

   Similarbastard

4. 4
   nounderogatoryethnicoffensiveslurcountable

   An offensive ethnic slur for a person of mixed race.

   UsageTo describe someone's background, say mixed-race.

   Note

   Applied to people of mixed race, the word usually carries over the contempt of the dog word and works as a slur, though some speakers reclaim it positively.

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