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Glite Dictionary
⬇️ To lower status 📄 To remove secrecy
to declass

to declass

8.4
To lower someone's social or official status
  • verb
  • /ˌdiːˈklæs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : degradar
  • The factory closures resulted in many workers being declassed to lower-paying jobs.

Examples

  • After losing their wealth, they felt declassed and struggled to adapt to their new lifestyle.

  • A family both declassed and rerooted overnight, facing neither exile nor expulsion but entrenched still on Summit Avenue. -- from The Plot Against America

    Academic text (2011)

  • The politician's scandal caused him to be declassed from his once prestigious position.

Synonyms

to downgrade
vsto declass
43 4.9

To make something lower in rank, value or importance

targets social or official status of people or institutions
to demote
vsto declass
37 5.6

To move someone to a lower job or rank because they did not do well

reduces social or official status broadly beyond just job rank
to relegate
vsto declass
36 6.8

Move someone to a lower job or position as punishment

reduces status without necessarily implying punishment

Antonyms

to promote
182 2.9

Give someone a higher job or rank

to elevate
  • Formal
52 4.4

To give someone a higher job or rank

How Downgraded

to declass
  • Archaic
8.4
to demote
37 5.6
to downgrade
43 4.9

Surface Forms

declass infinitive
declassified past
declassified past participle
declassing present participle
declasses third person singular

Morphology

declass = class + declassify (semi-transparent) = de + class

The verb is formed by adding the productive prefix 'de-' to the verb 'class' (or by analogy with 'declassify'), but the social-demotion sense is somewhat specialized and may not be immediately predictable for all learners.

Etymology

Declass comes from the prefix de- 'remove' and class 'social group', so to declass someone is to take away their class or rank and make them lower in status.