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Glite Dictionary
to demote

to demote

37 5.6
To move someone to a lower job or rank because they did not do well
  • verb
  • /dɪˈmoʊt/
translation icon : degradar
  • After the incident, the board voted to demote her from her position as CEO.
  • demote or fire
  • demote to secondary status
  • demote by one rank

He got, he got demoted from negotiator to jailer.

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Examples

  • I got demoted for fighting.

    The Outpost (2020)

  • So it does seem like you were demoted twice in one trip.

  • Who has the authority to hire, fire, promote, or demote you?

    Academic text (2004)

  • I would just demote Fraser by just one rank so that he could be on there.

  • I'm not going to get demoted again because of you.

    Transformers One (2024)

  • Got demoted for not understanding the need for a warrant.

    Gangster Squad (2013)

  • I was demoted and you were reassigned.

    Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

  • Rhonda, you have been officially demoted from sports talk radio.

  • Oprah was demoted from her first job as a news anchor.

  • During the reorganization, many principals were reassigned, and some were demoted to assistant principal status.

    Academic text (1993)

Synonyms

to bump
vsto demote
85 6.5

To move someone to a lower job or position

is the formal action of lowering rank as discipline instead of force
to downgrade
vsto demote
43 4.9

To make something lower in rank, value or importance

reduces job rank specifically as a penalty
to relegate
vsto demote
36 6.8

Move someone to a lower job or position as punishment

means reducing official rank rather than just changing status or location
to kick downstairs
vsto demote
  • Informal
1 8.5

To give someone a lower job or rank at work

is the neutral formal term for that punitive reassignment
to resubordinate
vsto demote
9.3

To put a team or unit back under the control of another group

is a one-time reassignment to lower rank typically after poor performance
to declass
vsto demote
  • Archaic
8.4

To lower someone's social or official status

applies more to workplace rank and performance 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 Punitive

to dismiss
70 3.3
to suspend
  • Formal
289 4.2
to demote
37 5.6
to downgrade
43 4.9
to reassign
74 4.1
to transfer
528 2.7

Surface Forms

demote infinitive
demoted past
demoted past participle
demoting present participle
demotes third person singular

Morphology

demote = promote (semi-transparent) = de + mote

Many learners can infer 'demote' through its clear oppositional relation to 'promote', but this is analogical rather than a fully regular base-plus-affix formation.

Etymology

The word demote comes from the parts de- meaning 'down' and move meaning 'to move'. So to demote someone is to 'move them down' in position or rank, the opposite of promote.