Dictionary

mentee en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio

Etymology

Back-formation from mentor. Although mentor comes from Ancient Greek Μέντωρ (Méntōr), the name of a mythological figure, it was mistakenly analyzed as terminating in the suffix -or (“doer”), leading to a form using the French patientive suffix -ee on the model of pairs such as donor–donee and employer–employee. Attested since at least 1958.

Meanings

1. A person who is being mentored.
   • [T]he two characters form a beautiful mentor-mentee relationship in which each derives tremendous strength from the other 1979 April 11, Robert A. Cohn, “'Norma Rae' Gets an 'A'”, in St. Louis Jewish Light, page 14:
   • Her assistant, played by Noémie Merlant (another would-be conductor) appears to be someone else she is keeping on an emotional string, and she is being stalked by another former mentee who has become obsessed with her;[…] 2023 January 11, Peter Bradshaw, “Tár review – Cate Blanchett is perfect lead in delirious, sensual drama”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • In some mentorship programs, the mentees get a say in whom they will be paired with. A 'mentee may be drawn to make certain connections based on a sense of their professional influence. 2022 November 29, Kwame Anthony Appiah, “Must I Mentor a White Law Student When I Requested a Black Mentee?”, in The New York Times Magazine:
   • In 2017, [Sam] Altman leaned into their disagreements and went on a tour of America, much like [Peter] Thiel’s other mentee [Mark] Zuckerberg, and spoke to one hundred Trump supporters. 2025, Karen Hao, Empire of AI, New York City: Penguin Press, →ISBN:
   • Near-synonyms: apprentice, buddy (in training sense), intern, pupil, student, trainee
   • The mentee occasionally teaches the class, regularly confers with students, conducts optional special study sessions, and relieves the professor of most clerical classroom functions 1958, Laurence E. Leamer, “Economic Education in Colleges”, in Educating Youth for Economic Competence (American Business Education Yearbook), volume 15, Eastern Business Teachers Association, page 49:

Forms

Antonyms

teacher · mentor

Coordinates

aid · assistant · helper

Deriveds

e-mentee · menteeship

Descendants

멘티 · メンティー

Synonyms

student · intern · pupil · protégé · trainee · mentoree · buddy · apprentice