demotion

[ dih-moh-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of reducing to a lower grade, rank, class, or position, or the result of such a reduction:

   The committee is charged with hearing employee appeals and addressing complaints regarding suspension, demotion, layoff, or termination of employment.

   The company’s bad quarter resulted in a further demotion of their overall rating from C+ to C.

Word History and Origins

Origin of demotion¹

de- + (pro)motion

Example Sentences

If your site is an authority in your vertical and you saw declines with this update, what may have happened is not that you were demoted, but rather, Google was able to find value in some of your less authoritative competitors.

From Search Engine Land

This site was absolutely decimated with the June 2019 core update that demoted many alternative medicine sites.

From Search Engine Land

Google will undoubtedly take notice, and your site could be demoted.

From Search Engine Watch

That would be a promotion for Haskins, who after passing for 314 yards and running for a score in a 31-17 loss against the Baltimore Ravens’ stingy defense last month was demoted to third string and out of uniform.

From Washington Post

With Allen out, the veteran will start next week at the Detroit Lions, and Dwayne Haskins, the first-round pick who was demoted to third string, will be elevated to backup.

From Washington Post

Moving to Hulu like Larry King could give him free rein—but is that too much of a demotion from venerable Tonight?

From The Daily Beast

Any infraction of the rules could bring demotion or reassignment to another city, which proved tough on families and very costly.

From The Daily Beast

He just felt that he was reasonably secure against promotion, and that he need not be afraid of "demotion."

From Project Gutenberg