The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DEMOTION
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
D
E
M
O
T
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result DEMOTION
- Daughter feeling a loss of status
- Passion shown by daughter, being put down
- Relegation? There's strong feeling shown by crowd finally
- Downgrading of French proposal
- Dead feeling is going down
- Departs with feeling, on going down
- Downgrading Germany’s European proposal
- Downgrading of French movement
- Duke feeling reduction in status
- Protest turning into loss of status
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Downgrading" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case downgrading = demotion.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does DEMOTION mean?
DEMOTION noun- An act of demoting; a lowering of rank or status