Meaning & use
demeaning
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Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Making a person feel less respected or less important, so that their dignity is hurt.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a demeaning remark, the job was demeaning.
Patterns
- demeaning to someone
- a demeaning remark
He found the constant teasing demeaning.
It was demeaning to be asked to work for free.
The ad was criticized for its demeaning portrayal of women.
Word forms
| comparative | more demeaning |
|---|---|
| superlative | most demeaning |
Common combinations
- demeaning remark
- She ignored the demeaning remark and kept working.
- demeaning treatment
- The staff complained of demeaning treatment.
- demeaning to someone
- The comment was demeaning to everyone in the room.
- demeaning job
- No honest job is demeaning.
- feel demeaning
- Being ordered around felt demeaning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- humiliating
- Humiliating suggests public shame, while demeaning suggests lowered respect or status.
- degrading
- Degrading is stronger and suggests loss of moral standing.
- belittling
- Belittling means making someone seem small or unimportant, often through words.
- insulting
- Insulting means rude or offensive, without necessarily lowering status.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: demeaning or demeanor? demeaning or meaning?
demeaning vs demeanor
Demeanor is how someone behaves or appears, and it is not related in meaning even though it looks similar.
demeaning vs meaning
Do not read demeaning as de-meaning; it comes from demean, not from meaning.
Practice
Being asked to fetch coffee for the whole team felt ____ to the senior engineer.
Choose one answer.
Demeaning fits a task that lowers someone's status. Flattering and rewarding suggest the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “demeaning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.