Yes, ‘meaner’ is indeed a word. It is the comparative form of the adjective ‘mean’. In this context, ‘mean’ can refer to someone who is unkind or spiteful, or it can denote something that is average or in the middle range of a scale.
When using ‘meaner’, you are comparing two things or individuals where one is considered to be more unkind or malicious than the other. For example, you might say, ‘She is meaner than her brother,’ suggesting that her level of unkindness surpasses that of her brother.
Additionally, ‘meaner’ can also refer to a mathematical context, where it’s used as a comparative term in certain discussions. So, using ‘meaner’ is perfectly acceptable in both everyday language and specific contexts.