as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
demanded an apology for his demeaning comments
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
it demeans the political process to demand that candidates make promises that everyone knows are unrealistic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
his statement was not meant to demean the group's hard work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in behaving
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way
I shall endeavor to demean myself with utmost respect when our pastor comes to visit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demeaning
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Leadership was abusive, inappropriate and demeaning, employees told The Denver Post.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
What once was aberrant—indeed, unimaginable—is now standard Trump fare, demeaning not only to the Presidency but to the rule of law.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demeaning
Adjective
Her pictures, which start innocently enough from the puppy-dog idea, get increasingly demeaning.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Leadership was abusive, inappropriate and demeaning, employees told The Denver Post.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
Great leaders demand excellence without demeaning their people.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
What once was aberrant—indeed, unimaginable—is now standard Trump fare, demeaning not only to the Presidency but to the rule of law.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demeaning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demeaning
Adjective
-
Pratt came in with an insulting offer and needed to be pushed.—
Heather Merrick,
Hartford Courant,
11 June 2026
-
The New York Times last week reported about his relationships with previous girlfriends, some of whom viewed him positively and others who described him as volatile and insulting.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
The country’s ministry of culture and sports set out a series of rules and regulations which included no pyro, no face paint and no shouting of words that could be degrading towards any person on the field, not even the referee.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
The bones also were coated with a light layer of minerals from the surrounding seawater, which may have prevented them from degrading.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
New Yorkers will recall the assholic behavior of the Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a swaggering builder of ships, who always seemed to delight in humiliating his managers and players.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 June 2026
-
In her report, Soto accused Sibrian of allegedly mocking and humiliating her for her accent, immigration status and race and calling her stupid.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The new chip is designed to eliminate that risk by continuously checking whether its measurement hardware is behaving as expected during operation.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 June 2026
-
Police released few details about the suspect, described as a man armed with a knife who was behaving erratically.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Obamas have faced racist and derogatory attacks for years, including from public officials and online memes.—
Jennifer Hassan,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
-
People throwing cigarette butts against the house, yelling obscenities, playing derogatory music.—
Madeleine Wright,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau was an expert at discrediting witnesses, subjects told the filmmakers, but certain key witnesses, like Janet Arvizo, struggled to connect with the jury on their own.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
-
If the Knicks had that happen to them, everyone would be discrediting them.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Papal aircraft have had technical problems in the past, but for a plane carrying the pope to be unable to take off is unheard of.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
Long before kickoff between Mexico and South Africa, fans lined up outside the venue carrying flags, wearing jerseys and bringing noisemakers from home.—
J.M. Banks
June 12,
Kansas City Star,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demeaning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demeaning. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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