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demotion meaning and examples

2025-09-06

Meaning

Demotion is the act of reducing someone to a lower rank, position, or status. It is the opposite of promotion and often happens because of poor performance, misconduct, or company restructuring.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Noun

  • Typical structures:

    • demotion to a lower position
    • face a demotion
    • be subject to demotion

Example: He faced demotion after failing to meet the company’s expectations.

Common Phrases

  • face demotion
  • threat of demotion
  • demotion to a junior role
  • risk of demotion
  • be given a demotion

Collocations

  • job demotion
  • career demotion
  • rank demotion
  • unexpected demotion
  • official demotion

Examples

  1. The manager’s mistakes led to his demotion to assistant supervisor.
  2. She accepted the demotion without complaint.
  3. His poor performance put him at risk of demotion.
  4. The company announced several demotions after restructuring.
  5. Being late too often may result in a demotion.
  6. The officer faced demotion for misconduct during the mission.
  7. He viewed the demotion as an opportunity to start fresh.
  • downgrade
  • reduction
  • relegation
  • loss of rank
  • setback