as in reduced
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the court-martial's decision was to demote the officer responsible for the failed mission
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of demoted
In a post on X, Hegseth announced that Kelly was being demoted for a video from November.
—
Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
As an indication of how badly things went, consider that during the season the Dolphins fired their general manager (Chris Grier) and demoted their quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa).
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
The Kelly story concerned the Arizona senator possibly being demoted from his retired Navy rank of captain.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Jan. 2026
If demoted, the Arizona senator's military pension would be reduced.
—Davis Winkie, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Yet just 2½ years later, Pulford was back in both the GM and head coaching positions after Murray was fired and Molleken demoted to associate coach — though Molleken continued to handle daily operations of the team.
—Stephen Whyno, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
But Callum Wilson, the joint top scorer (4) with club captain Jarrod Bowen, is in talks to end his five-month spell now he has been demoted to third-choice.
—Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Sanders demoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to quarterbacks coach and stripped the former NFL head coach of play-calling duties.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
He is simply demoted in sexiness without fanfare.
—Choire Sicha, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoted
Verb
-
While many areas are seeing visibility reduced to between one and three miles, patchy dense fog is reducing visibilities to as low as one quarter mile in spots.—
-
Unable to turn back against the strong currents of the Napo, the party, now reduced to just 50, carried on downriver toward the Amazon.—
Verb
-
The domestic violence case was dismissed and the theft charge had yet to be disputed in court.—
-
Carrie, meanwhile, is villainized for her admittedly deluded quest to reunite with her biological son in a world that has dismissed them.—
Verb
-
Maye was strip-sacked by Odafe Oweh while in Chargers territory to keep it a three-point game in the third quarter.—
-
But Odafe Oweh strip sacked New England quarterback Drake Maye, and the Chargers recovered.—
Cite this Entry
“Demoted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoted. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share