bearish

adjective

bear·​ish ˈber-ish 

1

: resembling a bear in build or in roughness, gruffness, or surliness

a bearish man

2

a

: marked by, tending to cause, or fearful of falling prices (as in a stock market)

bearish investors

b

: pessimistic

bearishly adverb

bearishness noun

Synonyms

• hopeless
• cynical
• pessimistic
• negative

Examples of bearish in a Sentence

The market has been bearish lately.

some studio execs are bearish about this summer's box office

Recent Examples on the Web

So if an investor is bearish on an asset, a buy-write or covered call isn’t suitable. —Michael Khouw, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2025

The Jackson Hole comments from Fed Chair Powell were just what the stock market bulls were hoping for and the bearish investors had feared. —Tom Aspray, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Republicans were increasingly bearish on Ernst running again in recent months, though the White House attempted to persuade her to seek reelection given her strong track record in general elections. —Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Some of the savviest investors in the world, these funds have been net short oil stocks for seven of the nine months since October 2024, while unwinding bearish bets on solar. —Andrew Behar, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bearish

• cherish
• farish
• garish
• perish
• squarish
• nightmarish