demean

C2+ Topic:Ethics & Social Judgment

US /dɪˈmin/ UK /dɪˈmiːn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to lower in dignity or status; to debase

He refused to demean himself with such petty gossip.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to lower in dignity or... debase degrade humble lower abase disgrace humiliate

Opposites

elevate dignify exalt ennoble

Word family

Derived forms demeaningdemeaned

Related forms demeanor mean

Etymology

In the sense 'to debase', a 17th-century formation from de- ('down') plus mean ('low, base'). A distinct older verb demean ('to conduct oneself') came from Old French demener ('to lead, conduct'), from Latin minare ('to drive').

de- Latin mæne Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Ethics & Social Judgment Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# demean

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈmin/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈmiːn/

## Meanings
1. to lower in dignity or status; to debase

## Examples
- He refused to demean himself with such petty gossip.

## Synonyms
- debase
- degrade
- humble
- lower
- abase
- disgrace
- humiliate

## Antonyms
- elevate
- dignify
- exalt
- ennoble

## Derived Forms
- demeaning
- demeaned

## Related Forms
- demeanor
- mean

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: de-
- Root: mæne

## Etymology
In the sense 'to debase', a 17th-century formation from de- ('down') plus mean ('low, base'). A distinct older verb demean ('to conduct oneself') came from Old French demener ('to lead, conduct'), from Latin minare ('to drive').

## AI Etymology
Demean is in the sense 'to debase', a 17th-century formation from de- ('down') plus mean ('low, base'). A distinct older verb demean ('to conduct oneself') came from Old French demener ('to lead, conduct'), from Latin minare ('to drive'). In present-day use, it means to lower in dignity or status; to debase. Derived formations include demeaning and demeaned. Related vocabulary includes demeanor and mean.

## Topics
- Ethics & Social Judgment
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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