demeaning
adjective
de·mean·ing
di-ˈmē-niŋ 
: damaging or lowering the character, status, or reputation of someone or something
The work was dirty and demeaning, though not quite as somber as it sounds.—
Gillian Beer
Gillian BeerHe changed one song title … to slip around radio's reluctance to play songs with demeaning words in them …—Neil Strauss
Neil Strauss[Sylvia Plath] is most helpfully linked, not to the demeaning disputes of her milieu, but to such powerful predecessors as Theodore Roethke, T. S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, and above all Emily Dickinson.—Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
demeaningly
adverb
When Lorna … takes control of the inmates' pharmacy, she decides that no one needs medication. It's her belief that those who are demeaningly labeled "crazy" are given medication in order to stifle their uniqueness …
—Sophie-Marie Prime
Sophie-Marie Prime
Synonyms
Examples of demeaning in a Sentence
demanded an apology for his demeaning comments
Recent Examples on the Web
The principal accused him of disrupting his Middleborough Middle School and of demeaning LGBTQ students.
—Lauren Green, Fox News, 28 Jan. 2025
Her mother, a day laborer who had to leave school at age 10 to work, cleaned houses under the demeaning conditions of the Jim Crow era: Butler sometimes accompanied her mom on the job, where they were required to enter homes through back doors.
—Stephen Kearse, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
The film playfully critiques certain Muslim customs, but never in a demeaning way, while providing a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative that’s a tad predictable.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Many of the jobs available to young and inexperienced workers are entry-level roles in the retail, restaurant and service industries, and these jobs are often talked about in a demeaning way.
—Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
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Lauren Green, Fox News, 28 Jan. 2025
Her mother, a day laborer who had to leave school at age 10 to work, cleaned houses under the demeaning conditions of the Jim Crow era: Butler sometimes accompanied her mom on the job, where they were required to enter homes through back doors.
—Stephen Kearse, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
The film playfully critiques certain Muslim customs, but never in a demeaning way, while providing a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative that’s a tad predictable.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Many of the jobs available to young and inexperienced workers are entry-level roles in the retail, restaurant and service industries, and these jobs are often talked about in a demeaning way.
—Brandon Busteed, Forbes, 14 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for demeaning
Dictionary Entries Near demeaning
Cite this Entry
“Demeaning.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demeaning. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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