demean
[dɪ'min]
vt. 贬低身, 贬损

1. Don't demean yourself by telling such obvious lies.
   种谎言自贬.
2. I wouldn't demean myself to ask for favours from them.
   低身求情.
3. He find it demean to ask his wife to support the family.
   觉养口损。

demean
[ verb ]
reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
<verb.emotion> degrade disgrace put down take down
She tends to put down younger women colleaguesHis critics took him down after the lecture




Demean \De*mean"\, n. [OF. demene. See {Demean}, v. t.]
1. Management; treatment. [Obs.]

Vile demean and usage bad. --Spenser.

2. Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor. [Obs.]

With grave demean and solemn vanity. --West.


Demean \De*mean"\, n. [See {Demesne}.]
1. Demesne. [Obs.]

2. pl. Resources; means. [Obs.]

You know
How narrow our demeans are. --Massinger.


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 threatening cries, fr. minari to threaten. See
{Menace}.]
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.

Note: This sense is probably due to a false etymology which
regarded the word as connected with the adjective mean.