Don't relegate me to the back office. I want to talk to the customers.
Source: tatoeba (6988967)
Relegate
/ˈɹɛlɪˌɡeɪt/
Synonyms for "relegate" (107 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (22)
Strong matches (32)
Related words (53)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: demote, abased, accredit, assign, atticize.
- Sentence evidence is available for relegate, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "relegate".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "relegate"
Keep "relegate" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "relegate" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "relegate", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "relegate" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
15 entriesMore specific
8 entriesarbitration referralautomatic relegationdemotiondeprioritizationdowngradingmarginalizationplayoff relegationsubcommittee referral
Translations
18 translations across 9 languages.
Bulgarian
1 entries- отпращам verb (to exile)
Dutch
3 entries- bannen verb (to exile)
- relegeren verb (to exile)
- verbannen verb (to exile)
Finnish
1 entries- karkottaa verb (to exile)
French
1 entries- reléguer verb (to exile)
German
4 entries- absetzen verb (to exile)
- fortschicken verb (to exile)
- relegieren verb (to exile)
- verbannen verb (to exile)
Japanese
1 entries- 追い払う verb (to exile)
Māori
2 entries- tū(w)hiti verb (to exile)
- whakapako verb (to exile)
Russian
4 entries- изгонять verb (to exile)
- отдалять verb (to exile)
- отстранять verb (to exile)
- ссылать verb (to exile)
Spanish
1 entries- relegar verb (to exile)
Sample sentences
9 total sentences available.
Many Japanese think that the heart of their written language is the two sets of Kana phonograms—Hiragana and Katakana—not Kanji logograms, which they relegate to older people.
Source: tatoeba (10525255)
The same people trying to ban trans people are also trying to relegate women back into subservient positions as uncompensated homemakers.
Source: tatoeba (11560986)
Looking from outside, the whole Earth may still be like Papua New Guinea, or PNG for short. My fatherland the Philippines obliquely retains its primitive innocence. It is really too bad that literature in indigenous languages there is still scarce. A trip to a bookstore in the Philippines reveals many books in English, but a mere small section in Tagalog. People speak an indigenous language ordinarily, every day, but when they read or write, it is often English. But texting on cellphones and smartphones and in Social Media may often be abbreviated Taglish code-switching. Many Filipinos prefer television, cinema, or videos in an indigenous language, rather than read English, which to them is still foreign cold. Maybe, Roman letters are too rigid for their Asian eyes, unlike the ancient Baybayin script, which nowadays people relegate to tattoos and patriotic T-shirts. Filipino culture is highly aural-oral, today. Today, Japanese anime, Korean dramas, American shows, and so on are dubbed in Tagalog in the Philippines, more so than when I lived there decades ago.
Source: tatoeba (12210766)
Showing 4 of 9 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "relegate"?
Closest matches include demote, abased, accredit, assign, atticize.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "relegate"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.