downward spiral

noun

: a situation in which something continuously decreases or gets worse

Her life was in a downward spiral as she battled depression and addiction.

Examples of downward spiral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cars were still given as parting gifts for retired employees, and hundreds of thousands of dollars continued to be spent on promotional events and videos — all while membership continued its downward spiral and the union’s pension fund struggled to stay afloat. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026

All of which led to even less conviction, less usage, an easier-to-predict arsenal for hitters and a seemingly never-ending downward spiral. —Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026

The downward spiral will accelerate, and the damage may become irreversible. —Randy Linville, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026

Advertisement Soon after that initial protest, dissatisfaction spread and the country entered a long downward spiral. —Shahrnush Parsipur, Time, 3 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for downward spiral

• antiviral
• retroviral
• adenoviral
• antiretroviral
• chiral
• viral