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
The statewide board in that November meeting ultimately demoted the school to probation.
—
Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice, 12 May 2026
Despite getting demoted from protagonist to fatality victim, Tan hints that he might not be done with Mortal Kombat — even if Cole and his now-two-dimensional noggin are.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 12 May 2026
But there apparently was some speculation in China surrounding one of the plane's three pilots, 59-year-old first officer Zhang Zhengping, who had been demoted from captain prior to the crash, according to The Times.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
This was controversial to the public, though, with many feeling that Pluto had been demoted in a dishonorable sense, unjustly kicked out of the club of astronomical objects that people actually care about.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demote
Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice, 12 May 2026
Despite getting demoted from protagonist to fatality victim, Tan hints that he might not be done with Mortal Kombat — even if Cole and his now-two-dimensional noggin are.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 12 May 2026
But there apparently was some speculation in China surrounding one of the plane's three pilots, 59-year-old first officer Zhang Zhengping, who had been demoted from captain prior to the crash, according to The Times.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
This was controversial to the public, though, with many feeling that Pluto had been demoted in a dishonorable sense, unjustly kicked out of the club of astronomical objects that people actually care about.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demote
Verb
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Eco effort The hotel employs single-stream recycling and green housekeeping practices, and also has a green roof ecosystem to reduce the building’s heat load.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 May 2026
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New research suggests these medications, best known for managing diabetes and driving weight loss, may also reduce the severity of one of the most common and underdiagnosed sleep disorders in the country.—
Allison Palmer,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
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The court recommended that the petition be dismissed, and that the organizations be given one month to submit the employee lists.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demote. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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