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mixed

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈmɪkst// UK //mˈɪkst// mixed General-service

v. to combine two or more things together so they become one. You often do this when cooking or preparing something new.

v. to combine or blend different substances or elements into a single mass or collection. Transitive when an agent performs the action; intransitive when describing substances that can be combined.


SIMPLE

She mixed the flour and water to make dough.

CONTEXTUAL

The artist mixed blue and yellow paint on her palette to create the perfect shade of green for the leaves.

COMPLEX

The novelist skillfully mixed historical facts with fictional characters to create a narrative that felt both authentic and surprisingly modern.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From mix, equivalent to mix + -ed. Compare Middle English mixid (“mixed”, past participle), Old English miscode (“mixed”, preterite). More at mix. In adjectival use, reinforced by French mixte and/or Latin mixtus, past participle of misceō (“mix”), from the same Indo-European root as mix.

Usage

The verb is often used with 'together' or 'with'. It can be used transitively ('mix A and B') or intransitively ('oil and water don't mix').

Pitfall

I mixed the sugar into the coffee with a spoon.I stirred the sugar into the coffee with a spoon.Learners often use 'mix' for any circular motion in a liquid, but 'stir' is the correct verb for moving a spoon to dissolve or distribute something.

Idioms5 entries

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