as in disadvantage
a feature of someone or something that creates difficulty for achieving success
the downside of living in the country is, of course, the long commute to work
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Recent Examples of downside
India emerges as an example of the downside of tiller reforms’ incrementalism.
—
Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
The potential downside of glucose monitoring is that people who are (perhaps needlessly) alarmed by their CGM data will swap out healthy carbs such as fruit and whole grains for foods that are less healthy—butter, for example, or bacon and red meat.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2025
But the downside is that this same emotional fuel powers self-delusion.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 18 June 2025
The only downside to using most if not all of her time off for racing?
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for downside
Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
The potential downside of glucose monitoring is that people who are (perhaps needlessly) alarmed by their CGM data will swap out healthy carbs such as fruit and whole grains for foods that are less healthy—butter, for example, or bacon and red meat.
—Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2025
But the downside is that this same emotional fuel powers self-delusion.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 18 June 2025
The only downside to using most if not all of her time off for racing?
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for downside
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downside
Noun
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Beadle is at a distinct disadvantage in aspiring to one spot where Brighton have an abundance of depth.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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The state’s labor costs also put California’s growers at a disadvantage.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Noun
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In 1936, famed Olympic runner Jesse Owens raced a horse in a 100-yard dash and won thanks in part to a 40-yard handicap).—
Emily Barone,
Time,
19 July 2017
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LNK classes have done everything from installing handicap doors at Redwood to creating a Healthy Newborn site for Transitions that serves mothers going through addiction recovery.—
Brent Cooper,
Cincinnati.com,
17 July 2017
Noun
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While the drawbacks of legacy software are well documented, there are some valid reasons some organizations choose to keep it—at least for now.—
Eric Giesecke,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
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Apple this week provided a glimpse into a feature that solves one of the biggest drawbacks of passkeys, the industry-wide standard for website and app authentication that isn't susceptible to credential phishing and other attacks targeting passwords.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downside.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downside. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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