as in reducing
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 demoting
City Manager Maraskeshia Smith has proposed cuts that include laying off or demoting 37 employees, cutting violence prevention grants and shortening neighborhood pool hours.
—
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
As far as Williams, the Mets aren’t considering demoting him.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
Chennai buckled down Kolkata to 36-2 in the power play despite Ajinkya Rahane demoting himself down the order after the skipper struggled to give his team strong starts.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
Senior officials have discussed promoting Dhillon to one of the top department roles, while demoting Woodward, the sources added.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
Absent a lawsuit, which could be lengthy, Johnson’s options for actually removing Pettigrew could be trickier than merely demoting Brewer, however.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
In late January, the president put border czar Tom Homan in charge of the crackdown, effectively demoting the Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
Tampa Bay gave up on Bradley at age 24, demoting him to the minors in his third MLB season and trading him to the Twins at last year’s deadline.
—Aaron Gleeman, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Once Watson and Gordon are both back, Watson will probably be coming off the bench for the first time since mid-November, unless Adelman wants to make a more dramatic change by demoting someone from his starting lineup.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
As far as Williams, the Mets aren’t considering demoting him.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
Chennai buckled down Kolkata to 36-2 in the power play despite Ajinkya Rahane demoting himself down the order after the skipper struggled to give his team strong starts.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
Senior officials have discussed promoting Dhillon to one of the top department roles, while demoting Woodward, the sources added.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
Absent a lawsuit, which could be lengthy, Johnson’s options for actually removing Pettigrew could be trickier than merely demoting Brewer, however.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
In late January, the president put border czar Tom Homan in charge of the crackdown, effectively demoting the Border Patrol’s Greg Bovino.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
Tampa Bay gave up on Bradley at age 24, demoting him to the minors in his third MLB season and trading him to the Twins at last year’s deadline.
—Aaron Gleeman, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Once Watson and Gordon are both back, Watson will probably be coming off the bench for the first time since mid-November, unless Adelman wants to make a more dramatic change by demoting someone from his starting lineup.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoting
Verb
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Eco effort The Pig group’s 25-mile menu keeps suppliers local, reducing food miles and packaging in the process.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Its document generation tools guide founders through complex legal processes step by step, reducing errors and ensuring completeness.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Bangladesh was bowled out for 413 in its first innings, before taking a 27-run lead, dismissing Pakistan for 386 with offspinner Mehidy Hasan taking five wickets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
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On Friday, Makary was privately dismissing the reports of his imminent ouster as false, those people said.—
Sarah Owermohle,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demoting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoting. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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