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
Hegseth has also sought to demote Kelly from his retired rank of captain.
—
Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
Shortly after the 2024 layoffs, UT made major changes to its marketing and communications department, laying off 20 staff members and demoting its leader.
—Lily Kepner, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
The club is also high on Bird, who made a poor first impression and was demoted to Triple-A after being acquired from and overworked by the Rockies last summer.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
The pilot was demoted to street patrol after the dispute.
—Peter D'abrosca , Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demote
Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
Shortly after the 2024 layoffs, UT made major changes to its marketing and communications department, laying off 20 staff members and demoting its leader.
—Lily Kepner, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
The club is also high on Bird, who made a poor first impression and was demoted to Triple-A after being acquired from and overworked by the Rockies last summer.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
The pilot was demoted to street patrol after the dispute.
—Peter D'abrosca , Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demote
Verb
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Upon his arrival, Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison on earlier corruption convictions, a term swiftly reduced to one year following a royal pardon.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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Cutting convoy risk Army planners see cargo drones as a way to reduce dependence on traditional resupply convoys.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Marty Singer, attorney for the spouses at the time, dismissed the controversy.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Yesterday, Judge Aran Subramanian dismissed some portions of the suit but allowed other claims to proceed in the DOJ’s efforts to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demote. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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