Demean — De*mean , n. [OF. demene. See {Demean}, v. t.] 1. Management; treatment. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Vile demean and usage bad. Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] With grave demean and solemn vanity.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Demean — De*mean , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Demeaned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Demeaning}.] [OF. demener to conduct, guide, manage, F. se d[ e]mener to struggle; pref. d[ e] (L. de) + mener to lead, drive, carry on, conduct, fr. L. minare to drive animals by… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
demean — lower in dignity, c.1600, perhaps from DE (Cf. de ) down + MEAN (Cf. mean) (adj.) and modeled on DEBASE (Cf. debase). Indistinguishable in some uses from obsolete demean (see DEMEANOR (Cf. demeanor)) which influenced it and may be its true source … Etymology dictionary
demean — deport, comport, *behave, conduct, acquit, quit Analogous words: *carry, bear (as reflexive verbs) demean *abase, degrade, debase, humble, humiliate Contrasted words: heighten, enhance (see INTENSIFY): * … New Dictionary of Synonyms
demean — ► VERB 1) cause to suffer a loss of dignity or respect. 2) (demean oneself) do something that is beneath one s dignity. DERIVATIVES demeaning adjective. ORIGIN from DE (Cf. ↑de ) + MEAN … English terms dictionary
demean — demean1 [dē mēn′, dimēn′] vt. [ DE + MEAN2, after DEBASE] to lower in status or character; degrade; humble [to demean oneself by taking a bribe] demean2 [dē mēn′, dimēn′] vt. [see DEMEANOR] to behave, conduct … English World dictionary
Demean — De*mean , n. [See {Demesne}.] 1. Demesne. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. pl. Resources; means. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] You know How narrow our demeans are. Massinger. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
demean — [v] humble, humiliate abase, badmouth*, belittle, bemean, cast down, contemn, cut down to size*, cut rate, debase, decry, degrade, derogate, descend, despise, detract, dis*, disparage, dump on*, knock down*, lower, pan*, poor mouth*, scorn, sink … New thesaurus
demean — I v. (formal) (D; refl.) ( to degrade ) to demean by (I will not demean myself by cheating on the examination) II v. (formal) (d; refl.) ( to behave ) (he demeaned himself like a gentleman) * * * [dɪ miːn] (formal) (D; refl.) ( to degrade ) to… … Combinatory dictionary
demean — UK [dɪˈmiːn] / US [dɪˈmɪn] verb [transitive] Word forms demean : present tense I/you/we/they demean he/she/it demeans present participle demeaning past tense demeaned past participle demeaned formal to make people have less respect for someone… … English dictionary
