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Definition of Demean
1. Verb. Reduce in worth or character, usually verbally. "His critics took him down after the lecture"
Generic synonyms: Abase, Chagrin, Humble, Humiliate, Mortify
Specialized synonyms: Reduce, Dehumanise, Dehumanize
Derivative terms: Degradation, Degradation, Put-down, Takedown
Definition of Demean
1. v. t. To manage; to conduct; to treat.
2. n. Management; treatment.
3. n. Demesne.
Definition of Demean
1. Verb. To debase; to lower; to degrade. ¹
2. Verb. To humble, humble oneself; to humiliate. ¹
3. Verb. To mortify. ¹
4. Verb. To manage; to conduct; to treat. ¹
5. Verb. To conduct; to behave; to comport; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun. ¹
6. Noun. (archaic) Management; treatment. ¹
7. Noun. (archaic) Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor. ¹
8. Noun. demesne. ¹
9. Noun. resources; means. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Demean
1. to conduct oneself in a particular manner [v -ED, -ING, -S]
Medical Definition of Demean
1. 1. To manage; to conduct; to treat. "[Our] clergy have with violence demeaned the matter." (Milton) 2. To conduct; to behave; to comport; followed by the reflexive pronoun. "They have demeaned themselves Like men born to renown by life or death." (Shak) "They answered . . . That they should demean themselves according to their instructions." (Clarendon) 3. To debase; to lower; to degrade; followed by the reflexive pronoun. "Her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter." (Thackeray) This sense is probably due to a false etymology which regarded the word as connected with the adjective mean. Origin: OF. Demener to conduct, guide, manage, F. Se demener to struggle pref. De- (L. De) + mener to lead, drive, carry on, conduct, fr. L. Minare to drive animals by threatening cries, fr. Minari to threaten. See Menace. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Demean
Literary usage of Demean
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk by Francis Blomefield, Charles Parkin (1808)
"Estre, and Reginald, and of the land late H oel de Wai er dene ;—in West Winz
two parts of the demean of Richard, son of Simon;—in ..."
2. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"Partridge found the second demean to he growing ... the second demean is almost
the oth one in current use, the first demean has ..."
3. English Usage: Studies in the History and Uses of English Words and Phrases by John Lesslie Hall (1917)
"The use of demean in the sense of "debase or degrade oneself" has some vogue in
polite society in America. It is condemned however, by George Campbell, ..."
4. The Lancet (1842)
"... and the contempt of society. he will demean himself honourably in the practice
of his profession, and to the utmost of his power maintain the dignity ..."
5. The Tropenell Cartulary: Being the Contents of an Old Wiltshire Muniment Chest by Thomas Tropenell, John Silvester Davies (1908)
"... in her Sir Harry demean as in fee ; and by theire dede, cujus data est, ...
in his demean as in fee, and the seid Alianora in her demean as of fre hold. ..."
6. The Writings of George Washington: Being His Correspondence, Addresses by George Washington, Jared Sparks (1837)
"... and in professions of support to a just civil government After mentioning,
that I trust the people of every denomination, who demean themselves as good ..."
7. Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature (1907)
"If he had now resigned rather than demean himself by acting against his conscience,
it is by no means unlikely that he would have l>een recalled to power ..."
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