— see also fence-mending
2
[VN] to repair a hole in a
piece of clothing, etc. : He mended shoes for
a living. 3i0 3 [VN] to find a solution to
a
problem or disagreement ( jfri$ ) ; !?$:(■#■ ) : They tried to
mend their differences. ffetfjriSfcSJft 4 [V]
(erf, old-fashioned) (of a person A) to improve in health after
being ill/sick ifcM M recover
: He’s mending slowly after the
operation. XX/5, ffeiE&iiif
0 5 [V] (of a broken bone ##f)
to heal IT*!?! mend (your) fences
(with sb) to find a solution to
a disagreement with sb fB&RS&l mend your 'ways to stop behaving badly
g fr; &JP0IE — more at say v. a noun fT7T?71 on the mend (informal) getting better
after an illness or injury; improving after a difficult situation JH %.;
jtf : My leg is definitely on the
mend now. 0 £oes he believe the
economy’s really on the mend? Ite+gfIf
££ 5$ ^ ft S.
*■§?
men da cious /men'deijas/ ad/'. (formal) not telling the truth X£&B3; 003 lying
men da city /men'daesati/ noun [U] (formal) the act of not telling
the truth gla; H23 lying
mendelevium /.menda'liiviam; -'lerv-/ noun [U] (symb Md) a chemical element.
Mendelevium is a radioactive
element that does not exist naturally. #] (
)
mend er /'menda(r)/ noun (BrE) (usually in
compounds ill) a person who mends sth ill; road menders #£#&X
mendicant /'mendikant/ adj. (formal) (especially of members of religious groups
X
iffm
fit &) living by asking people for money and food (kt£ (ft ;
► men
di cant noun
men-folk /'menfauk; NAmE -fouk/ noun [pi.] (old- fashioned) men of a particular family or community ( &J ) H A: a
society sending its
menfolk off to war compare
WOMENFOLK
SYNONYMS
mentally ill
insane ♦ neurotic ♦ psychotic ♦ disturbed
* unstable
These words
all describe sb who is suffering from a mental illness.
mentally ill suffering from an illness of the mind, especially in a way that affects
the way you think and behave
insane [not usually before noun] (rather
formal) suffering from a serious mental illness and unable to live in
normal society The
question is, was the man insane when he committed the crime? |p]«ft^
j&H A^
In informal
English insane can describe sb who is not suffering from
a mental illness, but whose mind does not work normally, especially because
they are under pressure. This meaning is used especially in the phrases go
insane and drive sb insane. ft^XA5£ilf X, insane
fWAo go insane ffl drive sb insane fe
neurotic (medical)
suffering from or connected with neurosis (= a mental illness in which a person
suffers strong feelings of fear and worry) W,
#
fft: the
treatment of anxiety in neurotic patients DEDB In
informal English neurotic is also used to describe sb who is
not suffering from a mental illness, but is not behaving in a calm way because
they are worried about sth. neurotic
f§® She became neurotic
about keeping the house clean.
1259
men hir /'menhia(r); NAmE -hir/ noun a tall vertical stone
that was shaped and put up by prehistoric
people in western Europe (
££-&%!} E£23 STANDING STONE me nial
/'mirnial/
adj., noun
m adj. (usually disapproving) (of work X #) not
skilled or important, and often boring or badly paid X f§ ft *5 #J; ItSUfft#): menial jobs/work
0
menial tasks like cleaning the floor
Xft
■ noun (old-fashioned) a person with a menial
job {h A;
JBA
men in ges /ma'nmdsirz/ noun [pi.] (anatomy t?) the three membranes (= thin layers of material)
that surround the brain and spinal cord
J®ff M men in gi tis /,memn'd3aitis/ noun [u] a serious disease in which the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord become infected and swollen, causing severe
headache, fever and sometimes death J® HI ; J® #
meniscus /ma'mskas / noun (pi. menisci /-sai/)
1
(physics $}) the curved surface of
a liquid in a tube ( $ tt ) % B ffi 2 (anatomy flj?) a thin layer of cartilage between the surfaces of some
joints, for example the knee (
Mennonite /'menanait/ noun a member of a Protestant religious group that lives
in the
meno pause /'menapaiz/ (also informal the 'change (of
life)) noun [U] (often the menopause) [sing.] the time during which
a woman gradually stops menstruating,
usually at around the age of 50 ; .(,
#3 A )
jgXIM : to reach (the)
menopause 3\ M X ► menopausal /.mena'poizl/ adj. ■.
menopausal women/ symptoms TO A /
psychotic (medical) suffering from or connected with
psychosis (= a serious mental illness in which thought and emotions lose
connection with external reality) jf WWtffiLftL GEHJ In informal English
psychotic is sometimes used to describe anyone suffering from a mental illness,
but in correct medical usage it only describes people who have difficulty
relating to external reality. It contrasts with neurotic which
describes people who are less seriously mentally ill and are still able to
distinguish what is real from what is not. psychotic WWWWffi#
neurotic wm*
tfc;
neurotic \mmKft
a^di^awAo
disturbed mentally ill,
especially because of very unhappy or shocking experiences , ^ll'S
He
works with emotionally disturbed children.
unstable having
emotions and behaviour that are likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly it.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS
■ a(n)
disturbed/unstable mind a neurotic/psychotic/disturbed/unstable behaviour a neurotic/psychotic illnesses/disorders/symptoms/ patients
a seriously mentally ill/neurotic/psychotic/disturbed/
unstable
a emotionally/mentally disturbed/unstable