demeaning

adjective

de·​mean·​ing di-ˈmē-niŋ 

: damaging or lowering the character, status, or reputation of someone or something

The work was dirty and demeaning, though not quite as somber as it sounds.

—Gillian Beer

He changed one song title … to slip around radio's reluctance to play songs with demeaning words in them …

—Neil Strauss

[Sylvia Plath] is most helpfully linked, not to the demeaning disputes of her milieu, but to such powerful predecessors as Theodore Roethke, T. S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, and above all Emily Dickinson.

—Joyce Carol Oates

demeaningly adverb

When Lorna … takes control of the inmates' pharmacy, she decides that no one needs medication. It's her belief that those who are demeaningly labeled "crazy" are given medication in order to stifle their uniqueness …

—Sophie-Marie Prime

Synonyms

• belittling
• contemptuous
• decrying
• degrading
• denigrative
• denigratory
• deprecatory
• depreciative
• depreciatory
• derisory
• derogative
• derogatory
• detractive
• disdainful
• disparaging
• pejorative
• scornful
• slighting
• uncomplimentary

Examples of demeaning in a Sentence

demanded an apology for his demeaning comments

Recent Examples on the Web

Residents suddenly realized that Trump’s demeaning rhetoric about Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants could extend to them. —Julia Preston, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024

Even by his already demeaning standards, Trump's rallies and events have also taken a dark turn this fall. —David Faris, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Oz winces when Al throws him a big old necklace from the family jewel case; the gesture is completely demeaning. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024

This comes after the former president's Madison Square Garden rally where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made demeaning jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos in general. —Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of demean entry 1

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above