nadir

na·dir

noun \ˈnā-ˌdir, ˈnā-dər\

Definition of NADIR

1

: the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer

2

: the lowest point

Examples of NADIR

1. The relationship between the two countries reached a nadir in the 1920s.
2. <the discussion really reached its nadir when people resorted to name-calling>
3. Nantucket reached its nadir in the post-Civil War period. The whaling industry had become moribund, many New Englanders had been lured to California by the discovery of gold, and the island population dropped from ten thousand in 1830 to scarcely more than three thousand in 1880. —David H. Wood, Antiques, August 1995
4. But then, at the very nadir of that dark abandoned moment, that moment of despair and sickness unto death, {} —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
5. My nadir was the time I presented an oral book report on “Les Misérables,” having read only the Classic Comics version … —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 12 Oct. 1986

Illustration of NADIR

Origin of NADIR

Middle English, from Middle French, from Arabic naḍhīr opposite

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to NADIR

Synonyms

bedrock, bottom, depth, rock bottom, zero

Antonyms

acme, apex, climax, crown, culmination, head, height, high-water mark, meridian, peak, pinnacle, summit, tip-top, top, zenith

Related Words

abyss, armpit, pit

Near Antonyms

bloom, flood tide, flower, glory, heyday; crescendo, high; cap, ceiling, crest, roof

Other Astronomy Terms

gibbous, nebulous, penumbra, retrograde, sidereal, syzygy, wane, wax, zenith

Rhymes with NADIR

aider, blader, braider, fader, grader, heder, Nader, raider, seder, shader, spader, trader, wader