demeaning

[dih-mee-ning]

adjective

1. that demeans; demean; debasing; degrading.

   Being forced to apologize when I had done nothing wrong was a demeaning task.

Word History and Origins

Origin of demeaning¹

First recorded in 1875–80; demean ¹ + -ing ²

Example Sentences

"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."

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Bureaucrats have bristled at the term as misleading and demeaning.

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Losing your job might be demeaning, but losing your integrity for the shot at a job is dehumanizing.

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In practice, it led to some of the most demeaning tactics schools have ever deployed against their own students.

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Especially when it became clear that the writers thought it made perfect sense to keep Carrie and Aidan’s children separate — so unbelievable, and demeaning to both characters.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• defamatory 
• degrading 
• disparaging 
• sarcastic 
• slanderous 
• unflattering