as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the court-martial's decision was to demote the officer responsible for the failed mission
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Recent Examples of demote
Lynch was demoted after making just four of his 10 attempts, missing a potential game-winning 33-yard field goal in the Spartans’ 16-14 loss to Central Michigan and two kicks from less than 30 yards in SJSU’s 30-29 loss to Stanford.
—
Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Then everything completely fell apart, and by mid-June he’d been demoted and would never sniff the majors again.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
For the descendants of fired, demoted, and aspiring civil servants, the adverse economic effects persisted for generations.
—Time, 14 Oct. 2025
But Old Man Nate’s ascension to the big four means Jawan has been officially demoted to the minor leagues.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025
Then everything completely fell apart, and by mid-June he’d been demoted and would never sniff the majors again.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
For the descendants of fired, demoted, and aspiring civil servants, the adverse economic effects persisted for generations.
—Time, 14 Oct. 2025
But Old Man Nate’s ascension to the big four means Jawan has been officially demoted to the minor leagues.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demote
Verb
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As part of a plea agreement, the murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter, and the remaining charges were dismissed.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
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Additional heavy rainfall is possible beyond Saturday; however, uncertainty in Melissa's track and forward speed reduces confidence in exact totals.—
MIAMI HERALD HURRICANE BOT,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Venables was dismissed early in the next campaign following three straight defeats, but Lineker went on to net another 20 times that season, helping win the Copa del Rey under Luis Aragones.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Court rules don't allow plaintiffs to submit additional evidence to counter a motion to dismiss, Alex said.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demote. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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