adj
Meaning 1
Moving, sloping or oriented down.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- He spoke with a downward glance.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
downward
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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US: /ˈdaʊnwɚd/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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UK: /ˈdaʊnwəd/
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Northumbria: /ˈduːnwɐd/
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CMU ARPABET: D AW1 N W ER0 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Located at a lower level.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- 1793, Thomas Taylor (translator), The Phædo in The Cratylus, Phædo, Parmenides and Timæus of Plato, London: Benjamin and John White, p. 235, [...] often revolving itself under the earth, [the river] flows into the more downward parts of Tartarus.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 3
Toward a lower level, whether in physical space, in a hierarchy, or in amount or value.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- His position in society moved ever downward.
- The natural disasters put downward pressure on the creditworthiness of the nation’s insurance groups.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 4
At a lower level.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 5
Southward.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adverb
Meaning 6
spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- don't fall down
- rode the lift up and skied down
- prices plunged downward
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: down, downwards, downwardly
Antonyms: upward
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English down Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward English downward From down + -ward.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: спадащ (spadašt) — moving down
- Dutch: neerwaarts — moving down
- Faroese: lækkandi — moving down
- Faroese: hallandi — moving down
- Finnish: laskeva — moving down
- German: nach unten gehend — moving down
- German: absteigend — moving down
- German: niedersinkend — moving down
- German: Abwärts- — moving down
- Māori: whakararo — moving down
- Romanian: coborâtor — moving down
- Romanian: descendent — moving down
- Russian: спуска́ющийся (spuskájuščijsja) — moving down
- Russian: нисходя́щий (nisxodjáščij) — moving down
- Spanish: hacia abajo — moving down
- Spanish: cuesta abajo — moving down
- Spanish: a la baja — moving down
- Swedish: nedåt — moving down
- Swedish: neråt — moving down
- Bashkir: аҫҡа (aśqa) — toward a lower level
- Bashkir: түбән (tübən) — toward a lower level
- Bulgarian: надолу (nadolu) — toward a lower level
- Faroese: oman — toward a lower level
- Faroese: omaneftir — toward a lower level
- Faroese: niður — toward a lower level
- Faroese: niðureftir — toward a lower level
- Finnish: alaspäin — toward a lower level
- German: abwärts — toward a lower level
- German: nach unten — toward a lower level
- German: runter — toward a lower level
- Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸 (dalaþ) — toward a lower level
- Hebrew: מַטָּה (matá) — toward a lower level
- Hebrew: לְמַטָּה (l'matá) — toward a lower level
- Hebrew: כְּלַפֵּימַטָּה־ (klapei matá) — toward a lower level
- Malayalam: താഴേക്ക് (tāḻēkkŭ) — toward a lower level
- Māori: ki raro — toward a lower level
- Māori: whakararo — toward a lower level
- Romanian: în jos — toward a lower level
- Romanian: în coborâre — toward a lower level
- Romanian: în vale — toward a lower level
- Russian: вниз (vniz) — toward a lower level
- Spanish: hacia abajo — toward a lower level
- Swedish: nedåt — toward a lower level
- Swedish: neråt — toward a lower level
Real reading context