# demean

> English word · Verb · IPA /dɪˈmiːn/ · frequency rank #48,179

## Definitions
1. To debase; to lower; to degrade.
2. To humble; to humiliate.
3. To mortify.

## Etymology
(1595) From de- + mean (“lowly, base, common”), from Middle English mene, aphetic variation of imene (“mean, base, common”), from Old English ġemǣne (“mean, common”). Compare English bemean.

## Easily confused with
- **demon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/demean-vs-demon)
- **demeanor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/demean-vs-demeanor)
- **dean** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dean-vs-demean)
- **deen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deen-vs-demean)
- **demand** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/demand-vs-demean)
- **defeat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/defeat-vs-demean)
- **Damian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/damian-vs-demean)
- **Declan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/declan-vs-demean)
- **Deccan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deccan-vs-demean)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ddemean`, `deeman`, `demaen`, `demeann`, `demena`, `demmean`, `dmeean`, `edmean`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/demean