demeaning
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of demeaning
Explanation
The adjective demeaning describes something that lowers a person's reputation or dignity. If your boss always asks you to pick up her dry cleaning and get her coffee, you might feel like you usually get the demeaning jobs. The adjective demeaning comes from the verb demean, which itself is based on the construction of the word "debase." The word demean has two almost opposite meanings, to degrade and to conduct oneself in a particular manner, usually a proper one. The adjective, however, always describes something that is degrading. Overhearing two friends gossiping about you can be a demeaning experience, even if they're just criticizing your new haircut.
Vocabulary lists containing demeaning
Into the Wild
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Promises to Keep
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You Call This Democracy?
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Title IX was meant to combat demeaning and exclusionary sex stereotypes.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Dean also wrote that she was also subjected to demeaning comments from the late radio host Don Imus during her tenure as a news editor and reporter for his program in the early 2000s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
The speakers are often ill-prepared and sometimes glib, demeaning what they should be illuminating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
"And I don't say that in any demeaning sense because for white southerners, it's not easy to rid ourselves of all the prejudices that we have born over the centuries."
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
She must hate me for subjecting her to something so demeaning.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
