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demean

[dih-meen]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object)

to lower in dignity, honor, or standing; debase: He demeaned himself by accepting the bribe.

Origin:
1595–1605; de- + mean², modeled on debase

Synonyms
degrade, humble, humiliate, mortify.

Antonyms
dignify, honor.

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Demean is one of our favorite verbs.

So is fletcherise. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

chat, to converse

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Example Sentences

She claims that women in journalism are addressed by their first names to demean.

If they don't get what they want when they want it-even from their teachers-the children yell and scream, demean and criticize.

Participants who had both status and power did not greatly demean their partners.

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She claims that women in journalism are addressed by their first names to demean.

If they don't get what they want when they want it-even from their teachers-the children yell and scream, demean and criticize.

Participants who had both status and power did not greatly demean their partners.

These people demean the profession and vocation of research.

My intention was not to demean anyone but simply to help promote a community that could discuss topics in a mature fashion.

Indecent ones demean us and destroy those inmates who might otherwise reform.

These comments can be intentional-meant to demean or criticize-or they can be random comments made in jest.

If you find that the state is acting immorally, it would demean.

Reuben alone did not demean the distant, unfamiliar campus.

It does not demean their degree, it does not poo poo their potential.

These destructive, power-hungry people make poor decisions meant to aggrandize themselves and demean others.

My friend hesitated to buy them for her, concerned that his charity not demean her dignity.

These folks demean the many important things for which the professoriate stands.

Look, there are things which demean the national character.

Men used it mostly to abuse and demean women, and women still appear mostly to take it that way.

It may be part of free speech, but when people use it they demean themselves.

IT is easy to criticize haphazard security measures that cannibalize and demean public space.

There are always individuals that demean good things.

But its style and inaccuracy demean the man it sets out to praise and devalue the insights that were offered to its author.

People complain that hip-hop stars use obscene lyrics and lewd music videos to demean women.

The use of shirts that demean and degrade people through.

They demean themselves by such efforts, and it's a reason that the public is less and less interested in what they have to say.

Follow the noble goals which complete you and not the ones that demean you.

Top aides keep score, demean enemies and gloat over successes.

Its an interesting way to already demean people without thinking about why they may feel a need to be a part of some change.

It's socially acceptable to demean us and kids in schools are allowed to bully kids they suspect as being gay.

He wanted to be right in the middle of those he hates so he could interact with and demean them everyday.

Racist comments are intended to demean and show superiority over the target.

She was the one who was crude enough to demean herself by asking for a handout.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

to conduct or behave (oneself) in a specified manner.

noun

Archaic. demeanor.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English deme(i)nen < Anglo-French, Old French demener, equivalent to de- de- + mener to lead, conduct < Latin mināre to drive, minārī to threaten

Link To demean

Collins

World English Dictionary

demean¹ (dɪˈmiːn)

—vb
	(tr) to lower (oneself) in dignity, status, or character; humble; debase

[C17: see de-, mean²; on the model of debase]

demean² (dɪˈmiːn)

—vb
	rare (tr) to behave or conduct (oneself) in a specified way

[C13: from Old French demener, from de- + mener to lead, drive, from Latin mināre to drive (animals), from minārī to use threats]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

demean

"lower in dignity," c.1600, perhaps from de- "down" + mean (adj.) and modeled on debase. Indistinguishable in some uses from obsolete demean (see demeanor) which influenced it and may be its true source.

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