1
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
it demeans the political process to demand that candidates make promises that everyone knows are unrealistic
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
his statement was not meant to demean the group's hard work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to behave
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way
I shall endeavor to demean myself with utmost respect when our pastor comes to visit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demean
Aniko Bodroghkozy, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
The imagery was largely criticized for echoing long-standing racist tropes that have historically been used to demean Black Americans.
—Ana Ceballos
follow, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
With that framing, his followers could demean Black protesters and vilify federal agents and Jews, notably those who linked arms with their Black neighbors to demand equal rights — as the rabbi at Beth Israel had increasingly done before Bowers’ henchmen bombed his synagogue and then his home.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
The shrine is Canton is demeaned and the Class of ‘26 stained.
—Greg Cote
february 1, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demean
Verb
Walsh and other right-wing commentators, along with comedian Ben Bankas, underscored Good’s sexuality to further demean her.
—Aniko Bodroghkozy, The Conversation, 24 Feb. 2026
The imagery was largely criticized for echoing long-standing racist tropes that have historically been used to demean Black Americans.
—Ana Ceballos
follow, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
With that framing, his followers could demean Black protesters and vilify federal agents and Jews, notably those who linked arms with their Black neighbors to demand equal rights — as the rabbi at Beth Israel had increasingly done before Bowers’ henchmen bombed his synagogue and then his home.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
The shrine is Canton is demeaned and the Class of ‘26 stained.
—Greg Cote
february 1, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demean
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demean
Verb
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Damaged pans may be harder to use safely and may continue degrading with heat, cleaning and metal utensils.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
Years of degrading the Star Wars legacy with terrible, unwatchable streaming series and the disappointing end of the previous trilogy have taken their toll.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Linda Hyde, a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member since 2014, boarded her Southwest flight on May 21 at Miami International Airport humiliated and angry.—
Ella Moore
Updated May 29,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
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Strength is not the capacity to humiliate someone with less power.—
Marc Brackett,
Hartford Courant,
27 May 2026
Verb
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The essential nature of magic especially intrigues physicists like Swingle, who hope to use it on a quantum computer to simulate how gravity behaves in situations where general relativity fails.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 June 2026
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Germany was the host country of the 2024 European Championships, and the Kansas City police went to view how soccer fans behave.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2026
Verb
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The Reserve Bank of Australia will likely focus on the strength of private demand before factoring in the conflict, alongside inflation risks stemming from weak productivity and rising unit labor costs, according to Stenner, who expects household consumption to weaken in the second quarter.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
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Critics counter that scarcity alone does not guarantee value if investor demand weakens.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
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After the war, his goalscoring statistics were deleted and his achievements were discredited, with the Polish press labelling him as mentally unstable and an alcoholic.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Hit men are dispatched, homicide takes hold, and a smear campaign is hatched to discredit Zaminsky as faking signals to keep his SETI gig.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 35 points and nine assists but wasn’t enough to carry a Thunder team that limped to the finish line, dealing with fatigue and a slew of injuries.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
31 May 2026
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Each pallet carries a ton of bananas.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
Verb
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In a blistering dissent, the court’s Democratic justices said the ruling opened the door to allowing Louisiana lawmakers to subvert the will of voters.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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His work was often political, with his cartoonish art prints and couture creations subverting racist iconography from American history.—
Bianca Betancourt,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Verb
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More than 20 years after Michael Jackson was acquitted on charges of child molestation — and two months since the global superstar’s record-breaking biopic skirted any mention of abuse allegations — a new Netflix docuseries brings his trial and the aftermath to the foreground.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
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Karen Read has filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts State Police and the Canton Police Department nearly a year after she was acquitted of killing her police officer boyfriend.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demean. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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