DOWNSIDE Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

downside

noun

ˈdau̇n-ˌsīd

Definition of downside

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of downside But all the shifts in time and point of view — and the lingering over details, both telling and not — have a downside. — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 Wells Fargo analysts started coverage of AT & T with a sell rating and price target of $18, implying nearly 15% downside. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 July 2026 Even though base editing doesn’t appear to cause major chromosomal damage, at least two major downsides remain. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 8 July 2026 One downside to adding a bunch of casual fans is that the pressure to perform increases dramatically. — Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for downside

Recent Examples of Synonyms for downside

Noun

Even worse, workers left to figure AI out on their own face disadvantages, including falling behind colleagues and experimenting without guardrails, exposing themselves and their organizations to data-security risks.

— Scott Francis, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Manuel Rey | Istock | Getty Images Hawaii has some built in disadvantages in just about any state competitiveness ranking.

— Scott Cohn, CNBC, 9 July 2026

Definition of disadvantage

Noun

Jon Zaghloul, city of Aurora spokesperson, said a variety of parking options will be offered on Friday, with handicap accessible parking at the north end of the Aurora Transportation Center parking lot.

— Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2026
Accessibility and Sustainability Accessibility seemed to me a priority of the hotel, which has three ADA rooms and features accessible elevators, wheelchair-friendly halls and restaurant entries, and a handicap lift for the pool.

— Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026

Definition of handicap

Noun

The lithium-ion batteries that supply much of today’s clean energy come with some infamous drawbacks, from fire risk to reliance on foreign mining.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Terrestrial radio, despite attracting a substantially larger audience than streaming audio, has historically been limited in its appeal to marketers because of its outdated infrastructure, a drawback AudioGraph claims to address.

— Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Definition of drawback

Browse Nearby Words

downshifts

downside

downsides

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Downside.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downside. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of downside

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on downside

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

bibelot

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes