noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
/daʊnˈfɔːl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:D AW1 N F AO2 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fall, doom
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Orson Scott Card It is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An act of falling down.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
a downfall of rain
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To fall down; deteriorate; decline.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ruin, ruination
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: failure
Narrower terms: finish
6
noun
Meaning 6
a sudden decline in strength or number or importance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the fall of the House of Hapsburg
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fall
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: weakening
Narrower terms: anticlimax
7
noun
Meaning 7
the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
