Synonyms of demeaning

demeaning 1 of 3

adjective

di-ˈmē-niŋ 

as in insulting

intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value

demanded an apology for his demeaning comments

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insulting
• slighting
• degrading
• derogatory
• malicious
• disparaging
• abusive
• pejorative
• uncomplimentary
• contemptuous
• deprecatory
• disdainful
• critical
• scornful
• depreciatory
• belittling
• derogative
• hateful
• venomous
• denigratory
• derisory
• depreciative
• libelous
• cruel
• nasty
• detractive
• decrying
• denigrative
• defamatory
• slanderous
• unkind
• spiteful
• opprobrious
• scurrilous
• calumnious
• malignant
• malign
• malevolent
• virulent
• vilifying
• maligning
• mean
• catty
• slandering
• jealous
• despiteful
• caustic
• bitter
• denunciatory
• resentful
• envious
• acrimonious
• aspersing
• scathing
• rancorous
• acrid
• jaundiced
• denunciative

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• laudatory
• positive
• complimentary
• commendatory
• friendly
• respectful
• approving
• admiring
• adulatory
• appreciative
• kind
• laudative
• sympathetic
• applauding
• warm
• kindly
• kindhearted
• warmhearted
• unmalicious

demeaning

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of demean

1

as in degrading

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

• degrading
• humiliating
• corrupting
• debasing
• deteriorating
• subverting
• weakening
• damaging
• demoralizing
• poisoning
• debauching
• diluting
• perverting
• destroying
• depraving
• disgracing
• prostituting
• cheapening
• shaming
• ruining
• polluting
• lessening
• bastardizing
• marring
• profaning
• cankering
• abasing
• vitiating
• humbling
• warping
• contaminating
• tainting
• hurting
• harming
• impairing
• thinning
• dishonoring
• wrecking
• dirtying
• defiling
• spoiling
• tarnishing
• watering down
• descending
• staining
• befouling
• defacing
• begriming
• depreciating
• downgrading
• taking down
• flawing
• blemishing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• uplifting
• elevating
• improving
• honoring
• exalting
• ennobling
• amending
• enhancing
• enriching
• dignifying
• ameliorating
• perfecting
• cleaning
• clarifying
• bettering
• respecting
• restoring
• refining
• cleansing
• purifying
• meliorating

2

as in humiliating

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

• humiliating
• discrediting
• degrading
• embarrassing
• insulting
• shaming
• humbling
• confusing
• debasing
• disgracing
• dishonoring
• cheapening
• rattling
• abasing
• criticizing
• chastening
• lowering
• taking down
• belittling
• disparaging
• fouling
• ridiculing
• diminishing
• disconcerting
• mortifying
• minimizing
• smirching
• sinking
• detracting
• discomfiting
• discounting
• condemning
• decrying
• confounding
• maligning
• slandering
• depreciating
• defaming
• flustering
• libeling
• castigating
• affronting
• defiling
• discountenancing
• denouncing
• writing off
• nonplussing
• fazing
• abashing
• damning
• censuring
• bad-mouthing
• crying down
• putting down
• execrating
• reprobating
• reprehending

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elevating
• exalting
• praising
• citing
• aggrandizing
• honoring
• complimenting
• deifying
• commending
• recognizing
• celebrating
• acknowledging
• cheering
• congratulating
• applauding
• boasting
• extolling
• saluting
• hailing
• lauding
• canonizing
• decorating
• eulogizing
• touting
• acclaiming
• highlighting
• dignifying
• promoting
• glorifying
• ennobling
• uplifting
• spotlighting
• feting
• lifting
• advancing
• magnifying
• enshrining
• playing up
• raising
• upgrading
• enthroning
• boosting
• idealizing
• romanticizing
• enskying

demeaning

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of demean

as in behaving

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• behaving
• carrying
• acquitting
• restraining
• conducting
• handling
• composing
• containing
• comporting
• controlling
• deporting
• quitting
• constraining
• inhibiting
• bearing
• collecting
• curbing
• checking
• repressing
• playing
• quieting
• acting
• moderating
• modulating
• tempering
• impersonating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misbehaving
• carrying on
• cutting up
• acting up
• misconducting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of demeaning

Adjective

Not in a demeaning way but in a loving a caring way. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026

The happiness ends when Kaisa gets an internship in Paris, but Ossi can’t join her because he is forced to attend an absurd and demeaning course for the long-time unemployed. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 May 2026

Verb

Especially early on in the campaign, when I was being attacked as being angry, a shrew, demeaning my husband — all these labels were coming in on me that were essentially trying to rob me of that femininity. — Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025

Great leaders demand excellence without demeaning their people. — Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025