demote
UK /dɪˈməʊt/ · US /dɪˈmoʊt/ verb
Forms demotes demoting demoted
- verb (transitive) To lower the rank or status of. “James was demoted from branch manager to assistant manager due to his poor discipline.”
- verb (transitive) To relegate.
Synonyms
degrade humble reduce abase bring down to size cut down to size debase defame demean depress discredit disgrace dishonour disparage downgrade embase give a bad name humiliate knock down to size put someone in their place bump relegate break kick downstairs
Antonyms
Etymology
From de- (“down”) + promote (“advance in rank/status (ending abstracted)”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “demote”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details