DEMOTED Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

demoted

verb

past tense of demote

as in reduced

to bring to a lower grade or rank the court-martial's decision was to demote the officer responsible for the failed mission

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of demoted Detroit demoted former general manager Steve Yzerman in July, giving him an advisory role to owner and CEO Chris Ilitch, and named Shawn Horcoff interim GM after failing to hire one during a search. — CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 Wilson was eventually demoted, making Winston the primary backup. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026 Now, Webb has been publicly demoted to a figurehead role as offensive coordinator. — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026 With Ted, Keeley and Rebecca in her office, Alice learns that Ted has asked to be demoted to assistant manager, handing her the head coach job for the women’s team. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026 As for 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis, who was demoted last week, there seems to be more to the situation than Deion is intentionally letting on. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026 McLeod got demoted to the fourth line late in the game and played only three shifts in the third period. — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 Andy Green spent all of Thursday night thinking about the time Jared Young was demoted from the Chicago Cubs to Triple-A on the final day of the minor league season. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026 Another is that, with the United States entangled in Iran and busy managing Venezuela, Cuba has simply been demoted as a priority. — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for demoted

Verb

Taps won't go dry, experts say, in part because Arizona has already reduced its water use over the years.

— Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
But for Deakins, the work is too dependent on the circumstances of a story, and the people telling it, to be reduced to any one method.

— Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduced

Verb

Williams argued that without a viable federal copyright claim, Hugo’s state-law claims involving breach of fiduciary duty and an incomplete accounting should also be dismissed, leaving him free to pursue those claims separately in state court.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2026
Last weekend in Highland, Michigan, Rogers dismissed El-Sayed's attempts to whittle away at his GOP base of support.

— Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of dismissed

Verb

And though his teammates were also lackadaisical when Daniels was sacked, the fact the quarterback went down with the ball in his hands with no timeouts in the first place is a real issue that Parsons believes trumps any other argument.

— Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
The game ended when Herbert was sacked after the Chargers moved to the Broncos’ 40-yard line, and time expired.

— Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of sacked

Browse Nearby Words

demote

demoted

demotes

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Demoted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demoted. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of demoted

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes