Meaning & use
demean
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To treat someone or something in a way that makes them seem less important or less deserving of respect.
Grammar: Takes an object: the joke demeaned him, not the joke demeaned.
Patterns
- demean someone
- demean something
- be demeaned by something
The magazine's cartoon demeaned the nurses by portraying them as silly.
I think it demeans a serious profession when people treat it as a joke.
He felt demeaned by the way the clerk spoke to him.
verbtransitive
To lower your own dignity by doing something that is beneath you or that others would find shameful.
Grammar: Used with a reflexive pronoun as the object: she would not demean herself.
Patterns
- demean yourself
- demean yourself by doing something
She refused to demean herself by begging for a second chance.
I will not demean myself by arguing with a stranger online.
Do you really want to demean yourself just to win the contract?
Word forms
| third person singular | demeans |
|---|---|
| past tense | demeaned |
| past participle | demeaned |
| -ing form | demeaning |
Common combinations
- demean yourself
- He would never demean himself by lying to get ahead.
- deeply demeaning
- Many employees found the new monitoring system deeply demeaning.
- demean women
- The ad was withdrawn because critics said it demeaned women.
- feel demeaned
- Patients often feel demeaned when staff talk over their heads.
- demean the importance of
- Calling the work 'just a hobby' demeans the importance of what she does.
Synonyms and how they differ
- belittle
- Belittle is about making someone's abilities or achievements seem small, whereas demean is more about stripping away their dignity.
- degrade
- Degrade is stronger and often suggests humiliation or treatment that strips away basic human respect, while demean can be milder.
- humiliate
- Humiliate focuses on causing a sharp feeling of shame, usually in front of others, while demean can be a slower, more general lowering of status.
- disparage
- Disparage means to speak about something in a scornful way and is limited to words, while demean can describe actions or conditions too.
Opposites
Word family
- demeaning adjective
- causing a loss of dignity or respect
- demeaningly adverb
- in a way that lowers someone's dignity
Commonly confused: demean or demeanor? demean or mean?
demean vs demeanor
Demeanor is a noun for the way a person behaves or appears, such as a calm demeanor. It is not the noun form of demean.
demean vs mean
To mean something is to intend or signify it; demean has a different sense, to lower someone's standing.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? Making jokes about his accent can ___ him in front of his colleagues.
Choose one answer.
Demean is the verb that fits after 'can' and takes 'him' as its object. 'Demeanor' is a noun and 'demeaning' is an adjective or -ing form, so neither works here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “demean”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.