consisting of several different types of things or people
a mixed salad
Oxford Essential Dictionary
mixed
adjective
containing different kinds of people or things:
a mixed salad
Is their school mixed (= with boys and girls together)?
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
mixed
mixed S2 /mɪkst/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑mix, ↑mixer, ↑mixture; verb: ↑mix; adjective: ↑mixed]
1. [only before noun] consisting of several different types of things or people:
a very mixed group of women
a mixed salad
2. mixed feelings/emotions if you have mixed feelings or emotions about something, you are not sure whether you like, agree with, or feel happy about it
mixed feelings/emotions about
I had mixed feelings about meeting Laura again.
He watched with mixed emotions.
3. mixed reaction/response/reviews etc if something gets a mixed reaction etc, some people say they like it or agree with it, but others dislike it or disagree with it:
The film has had mixed reviews from the critics.
Media coverage of the event was mixed.
4. especially British English for both males and females:
a mixed school
5. a mixed blessing something that is good in some ways but bad in others:
Having your parents living nearby is a mixed blessing.
6. a mixed bag
a) a group of things or people that are all very different from each other
a mixed bag of
The concert was a mixed bag of classical and modern music.
Club-goers are a mixed bag these days, and so are the places they go clubbing.
b) something that includes both good and bad parts:
The meat was very good, but the vegetables were rather a mixed bag.
7. (of) mixed race having parents of different races:
children of mixed race
8. in mixed company when you are with people of both sexes:
It’s not the sort of joke you tell in mixed company.
⇨ mixed metaphor at ↑metaphor(2)
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
mixed
mixed [mɪkst] [mɪkst] adjective
1. having both good and bad qualities or feelings
• The weather has been very mixed recently.
• I still have mixed feelings about going to Brazil (= I am not sure what to think).
• The play was given a mixed reception by the critics (= some liked it, some did not).
• British athletes had mixed fortunes in yesterday's competition.
2. only before noun consisting of different kinds of people, for example, people from different races and cultures
• a mixed community
• people of mixed race
• a mixed marriage (= between two people of different races or religions)
3. only before noun consisting of different types of the same thing
• a mixed salad
4. usually before noun of or for both males and females
• a mixed school
• I'd rather not talk about it in mixed company.
Word Origin:
late Middle English mixt: from Old French mixte, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere ‘to mix’.
Thesaurus:
mixed [mixed] adj. only before noun
• a mixed-ability class
diverse • • assorted • • miscellaneous • |often approving varied • |formal heterogeneous • • eclectic • |especially written, often disapproving motley •
Opp: homogeneous
a/an mixed/diverse/assorted/miscellaneous/varied/heterogeneous/motley group
a/an mixed/diverse/miscellaneous/varied/heterogeneous/motley collection
racially/ethnically/culturally/socially mixed/diverse/varied
Example Bank:
• In his world view, art and religion were inextricably mixed.
• an ethnically mixed community
• Do you have experience of teaching mixed-ability classes?
• She was born to parents of mixed race.
• a mixed marriage
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
mixed
[mɪ̱kst]
1) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n If you have mixed feelings about something or someone, you feel uncertain about them because you can see both good and bad points about them.
I came home from the meeting with mixed feelings...
There has been a very mixed reaction to the decision.
2) ADJ-GRADED A mixed group of people consists of people of many different types.
I found a very mixed group of individuals some of whom I could relate to and others with whom I had very little in common...
The community is very mixed, not least because there are plenty of small industrial enterprises.
3) ADJ: usu ADJ n Mixed is used to describe something that involves people from two or more different races.
...a woman of mixed race...
She had attended a racially mixed school.
4) ADJ: usu ADJ n Mixed education or accommodation is intended for both males and females.
Girls who have always been at a mixed school know how to stand up for themselves...
The spa has 6 indoor pools, 2 for women only, 2 for men only, and 2 for mixed bathing.
Syn:
co-ed
5) ADJ: ADJ n Mixed is used to describe something which includes or consists of different things of the same general kind.
...a small mixed salad...
The mixed forest is cut commercially but is also carefully conserved to look good.
...a teaspoon of mixed herbs.
6) a mixed blessing → see blessing
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
mixed
mixed /ˈmɪkst/ adj
1 always used before a noun : made of different kinds of things mixed together or combined
• a can of mixed nuts
• bags of mixed candy
• We ate salads of mixed greens.
2 a : including or involving people of different races or religions
• They live in a mixed neighborhood.
• She's of mixed African and European ancestry.
• children of mixed race/races
• people of mixed racial origin/ancestry
• a racially mixed couple
b : including or involving people of both sexes
• She went to a mixed school. [=a school for both boys and girls]
• a mixed chorus
• playing mixed doubles in tennis [=a game of doubles in which each team has a man and a woman]
✦When people are in mixed company, they are with both men and women.
• The women never spoke of sex or pregnancy in mixed company. [=when men were present]
3 : both good and bad, favorable and unfavorable, etc.
• The play received mixed reviews. = The play's reviews were mixed. [=some critics liked the play, while other critics did not]
• His decision got a mixed reaction from the family.
• The experiment got mixed results.
✦When people have mixed emotions or mixed feelings about something, they have both good and bad thoughts or feelings about it.
• He had mixed emotions [=he was both happy and sad] about the end of his trip.
• I'm having mixed feelings about this class.
mixed messages/signals
✦Someone gives mixed messages or mixed signals by showing a thought or feeling and then showing another very different thought or feeling.
• I don't know if he likes me; he keeps giving me mixed messages.
• She's sending mixed signals about her feelings.