as in reduced
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 demoted
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
The character is a former tactical officer demoted to patrol by her supervisor after noting his tendencies to avoid any real work to preserve his pension.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Carneiro was demoted soon after a game against Swansea in August 2015.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The city denied she was terminated or demoted, just reassigned.
—Colleen Slevin, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
In February 2024, several months after Robinson received a positive performance review, the investigation was closed and Robinson was demoted two classifications to a correctional lieutenant.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The butt of these jokes is Mike Waltz, the ambitious former congressman and national security adviser who was unceremoniously demoted to Turtle Bay in April for a series of sins that add up to not being MAGA enough.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Elsewhere in the state, last year’s recipients—Beckon in Denver, Bosq in Aspen, Brutø in Denver, and Frasca Food and Wine—all retained their one-star status, while no restaurants were demoted this year.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2025
Many coup backers are simply demoted or purged from the government without facing trial or execution.
—Joe Wright, The Conversation, 12 Sep. 2025
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
The character is a former tactical officer demoted to patrol by her supervisor after noting his tendencies to avoid any real work to preserve his pension.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Carneiro was demoted soon after a game against Swansea in August 2015.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The city denied she was terminated or demoted, just reassigned.
—Colleen Slevin, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
In February 2024, several months after Robinson received a positive performance review, the investigation was closed and Robinson was demoted two classifications to a correctional lieutenant.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The butt of these jokes is Mike Waltz, the ambitious former congressman and national security adviser who was unceremoniously demoted to Turtle Bay in April for a series of sins that add up to not being MAGA enough.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Elsewhere in the state, last year’s recipients—Beckon in Denver, Bosq in Aspen, Brutø in Denver, and Frasca Food and Wine—all retained their one-star status, while no restaurants were demoted this year.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2025
Many coup backers are simply demoted or purged from the government without facing trial or execution.
—Joe Wright, The Conversation, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoted
Verb
-
But a House Fiscal Agency report shows that total artificially reduced by the way billions in federal funding is accounted for, by moving Medicaid money to contingency funds where they are not included in the budget total.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — another priority for Democrats — will be reduced by more than $1 trillion over the next decade as a result of provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That it'll either get dismissed by a judge, there'll be a hung jury, there'll be an acquittal.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Sep. 2025
-
While independent reviews have dismissed claims of FBI orchestration, Patel’s criticism of Wray keeps pressure on the bureau, and his contradictory comments to Trump's regarding January 6 highlight divisions within the Republican Party over how to interpret the events at the Capitol.—
Emma Marsden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
He was sacked four times and hurried into several throws on the run.—
Jim Keyser,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Oct. 2025
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He was also only sacked one time, which happened to be a late-game sack from Micah Parsons.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demoted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoted. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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