relegate
/'religeit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To assign to an inferior or less important position, category, or place: To move someone or something to a lower rank, status, or less desirable condition.
- To consign or refer (a matter, task, or person) to another person or authority for decision, judgment, or action: To hand over responsibility.
- To banish or send away, especially to a specific place: To expel or remove, often as a form of punishment or dismissal.
Usage and Examples
- Assigning to a lower position or category:
- After the merger, several senior managers were relegated to advisory roles.
- The critic relegated the film to the category of forgettable summer blockbusters.
- Referring a matter to another:
- The judge relegated the complex technical question to a panel of experts.
- I often relegate difficult administrative tasks to my assistant.
- Sending away or banishing:
- The disgraced official was relegated to a remote posting.
- In ancient Rome, a citizen could be relegated to an island.
Advanced Usage
- "to relegate something to history": to consider something as no longer relevant or important, belonging to the past.
- Many hope that such prejudices will soon be relegated to history.
- "to relegate someone to the sidelines": to cause someone to become less involved or influential.
- After the injury, the star player was relegated to the sidelines for the rest of the season.
Variants and Related Words
- Relegation (noun): The act of relegating or the state of being relegated.
- The team faced relegation to a lower division.
- Relegable (adjective): Capable of being relegated. (Less common)
Synonyms
- Demote: To reduce to a lower rank or position.
- Downgrade: To assign to a lower grade, status, or position.
- Consign: To deliver or send, especially to a specified, often inferior, fate or place.
- Delegate: To entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person.
- Banish: To send someone away from a place or country as an official punishment.
Antonyms
- Promote: To advance someone to a higher position or rank.
- Elevate: To raise to a higher position or status.
- Upgrade: To raise something to a higher standard or grade.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Relegate" is not commonly used with particles to form phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically conveyed directly or with prepositions like "to".) - Relegate to: This is the standard construction, followed by the place, position, or category something is assigned to. - Old files were relegated to the basement archive. - He was relegated to the bench for the crucial match.
Verb
- assign to a class or kind
- How should algae be classified?
- People argue about how to relegate certain mushrooms
- expel, as if by official decree
- he was banished from his own country
- assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
- She was demoted because she always speaks up
- He was broken down to Sergeant
- refer to another person for decision or judgment
- She likes to relegate difficult questions to her colleagues