Meanings
present singular third person demotes · participle present demoting · participle past demoted · past demoted
- transitiveTo lower the rank or status of.
James was demoted from branch manager to assistant manager due to his poor discipline.
1 more example
In 1036, shortly after arriving at Yi-ling, Ou-yang Hsiu sent a lengthy letter to his friend, Yin Shu, who had been demoted at the same time as Ou-yang Hsiu and sent to Ying-chou (modern Chung-hsiang, Hupeh).
1984, Ronald C. Egan, The Literary Works of Ou-yang Hsiu (1007-72), Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 93Synonyms: degrade, humble, reduce, abase, bring down to size, cut down to size, debase, defame · Antonyms: promote
- transitiveTo relegate.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo lower the rank or status of.
More synonyms by meaning
verbassign to a lower position; reduce in rank
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*de
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
- Proto-Italic*dē
- Latindē
- Latindē-
- Englishde-
- Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
- Proto-Indo-European*pér
- Proto-Indo-European*pró
- Proto-Indo-European*pro-
- Proto-Italic*pro-
- Latinprō-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
- Proto-Italic*moweō
- Latinmoveō
- Latinprōmoveō
- Latinprōmōtus
- English(pro)mote
- Englishdemote
From de- (“down”) + promote (“advance in rank/status (ending abstracted)”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian понижавам в ранг
- понижавам в ранг (ponižavam v rang)To lower the rank or status of
Chinese Cantonese 降呢
- 降呢To lower the rank or status of
Chinese Mandarin 降級 /降级
- 降級 /降级 (jiàngjí)To lower the rank or status of
Czech degradovat, přeřadit
- degradovatTo lower the rank or status of
- přeřaditTo relegate
Dutch degraderen
- degraderenTo lower the rank or status of
Finnish alentaa, alentaa
- alentaaTo lower the rank or status of
- alentaaTo relegate
French rétrograder, dégrader
- rétrograderTo lower the rank or status of
- dégraderTo lower the rank or status of
- reléguer au second planTo relegate
German degradieren, zurückstufen
- degradierenTo lower the rank or status of
- zurückstufenTo lower the rank or status of
- herabstufenTo lower the rank or status of
- zurückversetzenTo lower the rank or status of
- verbannenTo relegate
- relegierenTo relegate
Indonesian turun pangkat
- turun pangkatTo lower the rank or status of
Irish ísligh
- íslighTo lower the rank or status of
Japanese 左遷する
- 左遷するTo lower the rank or status of
Māori whakaheke tupu, whakaheke tūnga
- whakaheke tupuTo lower the rank or status of
- whakaheke tūngaTo lower the rank or status of
Russian понижать
- понижать (ponižatʹ)To lower the rank or status of
Spanish degradar, relegar
- degradarTo lower the rank or status of
- relegarTo relegate
Swedish degradera
- degraderaTo lower the rank or status of
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with demote
Cite this entry
demote. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demote
“demote.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demote. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “demote,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demote.
Source: demote on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.