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 of bearish

• 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

There are also signs that some currency traders are rebuilding bearish bets on the yen, as the impact of the intervention has faded. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026

The surge is also a reversal from the bearish outlook held in cryptocurrency prediction markets. — Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bearish

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