All 3 Uses of
demean
in
War and Peace
- Balashev began to feel uncomfortable: as envoy he feared to demean his dignity and felt the necessity of replying; but, as a man, he shrank before the transport of groundless wrath that had evidently seized Napoleon.†
Chpt 9
- Pfuel only snorted contemptuously and turned away, to show that he would never demean himself by replying to such nonsense as he was now hearing.†
Chpt 9 *
- "You won't deign to demean yourself by marrying me, you..." said Helene, beginning to cry.†
Chpt 11
Definitions:
-
(1)
(demean as in: demeaned herself by being petty) reduce social standing or dignity
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, demean can be used as a verb form of demeanor to reference the manner in which one behaves.