demotion

American  

[dih-moh-shuhn] / dɪˈmoʊ ʃən /

noun

• demotions
  plural

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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• demotions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of demotion

de- + (pro)motion

Explanation

A demotion is when your rank or position is lowered by a superior. In the military, disobeying orders could result in a demotion. In the military — as well as other careers — people usually move up the ladder with time, rising through the ranks. When your superiors bring you up to a higher level, that's called a promotion, like an assistant manager becoming a manager. However, if you're a manager and you get bumped back to assistant manager, that's a demotion. Demotions occur when someone has broken the rules or has done a poor job. Demotions usually come with a reduction in pay too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

demotion demotions

This comes ahead of MSCI’s decision next week to determine if Indonesia will hold on to its emerging-market status or drop to a frontier-market classification, a demotion that analysts say will spur heavy capital outflows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

It added sites which were penalised but then fixed the issue could submit a request to Google to have the demotion reconsidered.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

Bovino’s apparent demotion came after he made demonstrably false claims that Pretti was aiming to kill federal agents.

From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2026

Other workers would face demotion, pay cuts and new jobs in different places.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

He made them taste Mrs. Hile’s pie and share Sam Gardiner’s candy; he showed them the book on English usage and told them about the cartoon in the paper relating to General McClellan’s late demotion.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Neither investigation resulted in sanctions, but judges said that, in combination with the firings and demotions, the probes conveyed a chilling message that Newby would punish those who crossed him.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025

After a post has been flagged by one of the independent fact-checkers, users will be able to lower or maintain the level of demotions on a post.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 13, 2023

In cases in which officers were caught having an inappropriate relationship, Moore wrote, the punishment ranged from suspensions and demotions to “the individual no longer being a member of this organization.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2023

Over the course of the two demotions, her salary dipped from $92,000 to roughly $61,200.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2023

People accept demotions all the time, for all kinds of reasons.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2023