Demean — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

reduce in worth or character, usually verbally

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dᵻvˈɔːɹsmənt/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪmˈiːn/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪmˈiːn/

2 syllables Say it as /dᵻvˈɔːɹsmənt/.

Examples

She tends to put down younger women colleagues
His critics took him down after the lecture

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

disgrace degrade take down put down

Parts of Speech

verb	reduce in worth or character, usually verbally “She tends to put down younger women colleagues”

Word Forms

takedown	noun	a crushing remark
degradation	noun	a low or downcast state; - H.L.Menchken
put-down	noun	a crushing remark

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

erniedrigen

an Wert oder Charakter verlieren, meist verbal

🇫🇷French

humilier

réduire la valeur ou le caractère, généralement verbalement

🇪🇸Spanish

degradar

Reducir el valor o el carácter, generalmente verbalmente.

🇮🇹Italian

avvilire

ridurre il valore o il carattere, di solito verbalmente

🇳🇱Dutch

vernederen

verminderen in waarde of karakter, meestal verbaal

🇵🇹Portuguese

rebaixar

reduzir em valor ou caráter, geralmente verbalmente

🇷🇺Russian

унижать

уменьшить ценность или характер, обычно в устной форме

India

🇮🇳Hindi

नीचा दिखाना

मूल्य या चरित्र में कमी, आमतौर पर मौखिक रूप से

🇧🇩Bengali

অবমাননা

মূল্য বা চরিত্র হ্রাস করা, সাধারণত মৌখিকভাবে

🇮🇳Tamil

இழிவுபடுத்துதல்

மதிப்பு அல்லது தன்மையைக் குறைத்தல், பொதுவாக வாய்மொழியாக

🇮🇳Telugu

కించపరచండి

విలువ లేదా పాత్రను తగ్గించండి, సాధారణంగా మాటలతో

🇮🇳Marathi

अपमान

मूल्य किंवा वर्ण कमी करा, सहसा तोंडी

🇮🇳Gujarati

નીચ

મૂલ્ય અથવા પાત્રમાં ઘટાડો, સામાન્ય રીતે મૌખિક રીતે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕೀಳಾಗಿಸು

ಮೌಲ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಪಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿ, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮೌಖಿಕವಾಗಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

താഴ്ത്തുക

മൂല്യത്തിലോ സ്വഭാവത്തിലോ കുറയ്ക്കുക, സാധാരണയായി വാക്കാൽ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨੀਚ

ਮੁੱਲ ਜਾਂ ਚਰਿੱਤਰ ਨੂੰ ਘਟਾਓ, ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਜ਼ੁਬਾਨੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

بدتمیزی

قدر یا کردار میں کمی، عام طور پر زبانی

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

贬低

价值或性格的降低，通常是口头上的

🇯🇵Japanese

貶める

通常は口頭で、価値や人格を低下させる

🇰🇷Korean

품위를 떨어뜨리다

일반적으로 구두로 가치나 성격을 감소시킵니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

hạ mình

giảm giá trị hoặc tính cách, thường bằng lời nói

🇹🇭Thai

ดูหมิ่น

ลดคุณค่าหรือลักษณะนิสัย โดยปกติด้วยวาจา

🇮🇩Indonesian

merendahkan martabat

mengurangi nilai atau karakter, biasanya secara lisan

🇵🇭Filipino

mababang-loob

bawasan ang halaga o karakter, kadalasan sa salita

🇲🇾Malay

merendahkan

mengurangkan nilai atau watak, biasanya secara lisan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تحقير

تقليل القيمة أو الشخصية، عادةً لفظيًا

🇮🇷Persian

تحقیر کردن

کاهش ارزش یا شخصیت، معمولاً شفاهی

🇹🇷Turkish

küçük düşürmek

değer veya karakterde azalma, genellikle sözlü olarak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַשְׁפִּיל

להפחית בערך או אופי, בדרך כלל מילולית

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'demean'?

The primary meaning of 'demean' is 'reduce in worth or character, usually verbally'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'demean' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'demean' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'demean' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'demean' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'demean' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'demean' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'demean' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'demean' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'demean' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'demean' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted