Henry James †1916
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There are two words spelled demean in English. One has a construction similar to its synonym, debase: where debase combines the prefix de- with an adjective base, meaning “low” or “vile,” demean applies de- to the adjective mean, meaning “inferior or contemptible.” The basic meaning the pair shares, “to lower in character or esteem,” is quite at odds with that of the other demean: “to conduct or behave oneself.” This demean comes from the Anglo-French verb demener (“to conduct”), and is generally used in formal contexts to specify a type of behavior, as in “he demeaned himself in a most unfriendly manner”; “she demeaned herself as befitting her station in life”; and “they knew not how to demean themselves in the king’s presence.” As such, it may be possible to demean someone for the way they demean themselves, though we assert that would be doubly mean.
Synonyms
Examples of demean in a Sentence
Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The show provided a compelling and damning critique of the media organizations that demeaned Winfrey over her weight, but even Oprah herself can’t unravel the layers of societal expectations, critiques, and worries that encompass the ongoing debate about weight loss medications.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
The team's unofficial role was to do media appearances and work on messaging behind the scenes to demean the House manager's case against the president to the public.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Where Braugher is often associated with characters of authority and self-possession, his Owen Thoreau Jr. is an anxious man, diabetic, a father of three, whose life has run into a rut, working as a car salesman for a demanding, demeaning father.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023
As a wrestling fan himself, the Canadian-American filmmaker partially wanted to make a point to anyone who demeans the work of professional wrestlers.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2023
McKeever was fired nine months later after the investigation determined the coach was demeaning toward student-athletes in her program, discriminating against swimmers based on race or disabilities and using abusive language.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
For years, male colleagues joked about her sexuality — Ms. Moran is a lesbian — and demeaned her, according to allegations in the lawsuit and two people with knowledge of her experiences.
—Emily Flitter, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
Its memes are riddled with racist stereotypes, demeaning tropes about L.G.B.T.Q. people and broad scatological humor.
—Ken Bensinger, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'demean.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb (1)
de- + mean entry 2, probably after debase
Verb (2)
Middle English demenen, demeynen "to rule, control, decide, arrange, keep within bounds, moderate, behave (in a certain way), conduct (oneself)," borrowed from Anglo-French demein-, tonic stem of demener "to lead, guide, carry on, subject to, treat, agitate," (intransitive) "to strive, thrash about," (reflexive) "to behave" (also continental Old & Middle French), from de- de- + mener "to lead, bring," going back to Latin mināre "to push, impel (an animal forward)," active form of the deponent verb minārī "to threaten" — more at minatory
Note: The verb mināre "to impel, drive (an animal)" is marginally attested in later classical Latin but more fully in Late Latin; in the Vulgate the object can also be human or inanimate. In early medieval Latin the notion "drive" shifted to "lead," a sense continued by Romance descendants of mināre (as French mener, Upper Engadine Romansh mner, Italian menare, Occitan & Catalan menar). The Old French prefixed derivative demener displays a wide array of meanings, which in part were passed through Anglo-French to Middle English demenen. The verbs in the modern languages—French démener, English demean—retain few of these meanings.
Verb (1)
1601, in the meaning defined above
Verb (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined above
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“Demean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demean. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
demean
1 of 2 verb
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