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
Houser made only six starts before he was demoted to the Mets’ bullpen and totaled 23 appearances before he was released last July.
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Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 26 May 2025
The club stuck to its plan and demoted Abel to the minors Monday.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 20 May 2025
In the aftermath, Reiko shared that she’d been demoted to desk duty and was inclined to quit, but Wes urged her to fight the good fight and keep being a good cop.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 20 May 2025
Good as the Royals’ rotation is, ranking third in the majors in ERA, the team lacks depth at Triple A. By demoting Cameron, the Royals could keep him stretched out and ready for his next major-league opportunity.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 26 May 2025
The club stuck to its plan and demoted Abel to the minors Monday.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 20 May 2025
In the aftermath, Reiko shared that she’d been demoted to desk duty and was inclined to quit, but Wes urged her to fight the good fight and keep being a good cop.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 20 May 2025
Good as the Royals’ rotation is, ranking third in the majors in ERA, the team lacks depth at Triple A. By demoting Cameron, the Royals could keep him stretched out and ready for his next major-league opportunity.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for demote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demote
Verb
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Here are recommendations for maintaining safety during a thunderstorm: To reduce the chance of being struck by lightning, when venturing outside, have a plan to get to a safer area.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 June 2025
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Yerevan has since sought to diversify its defense sources, reducing arms imports from Russia to as low as 10 percent by 2024.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
Verb
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Despite seeking help from her local GP, her concerns were initially dismissed.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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The lawsuit sparked a years-long legal battle that was ultimately voluntarily dismissed in late 2022.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demote. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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