downward

adverb down·ward \ ˈdau̇n-wərd \

variants: or downwards play \-wərdz\

Definition of downward

1 a :from a higher to a lower place

b :toward a direction that is the opposite of up

2 :from a higher to a lower condition

3 a :from an earlier time

b :from an ancestor or predecessor

See downward defined for English-language learners

See downward defined for kids

Examples of downward in a Sentence

The mountain streams flow downward to the lake.
Mud covered his pants from the knees downward.

Recent Examples of downward from the Web

Now, that projection has been revised downward to $9.1 billion.

— christopher keating, courant.com, "Group Of Millionaires Pushes For Higher Taxes On The Wealthy," 25 Aug. 2017
As the size of limos scaled downward in major cities like New York and Los Angeles, Otálvaro and his wife Sonia started Vintage Rolls Royce Limousine of Coral Gables.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "He pioneered the world of online trading from Miami, not Wall Street," 23 Aug. 2017
Staffing has drifted downward since 2010, and the agency now has about 2,000 vacancies — with 220 fewer agents than when Trump took office, records show.

— joseph tanfani, chicagotribune.com, "Trump vowed in January to hire 5,000 new Border Patrol agents. Now there are actually fewer.," 18 Aug. 2017
But the occasional, almost-perfect replicas sent me toppling downward into the Uncanny Valley.

— luke o'neil, Esquire, "I Confronted Death in a Wax Museum," 8 Aug. 2017
Similar projections by the rest of the nation’s five biggest banks -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- have been ticking downward for years.

— laura j keller, Bloomberg.com, "Wells Fargo Breaks Sharply With Industry as Its Legal Risk Rises," 7 Aug. 2017
The setback occurred after advertised job postings nearly reached 6 million in April, a figure that has been revised downward from the initial report.

— josh boak, The Seattle Times, "US job openings slipped in May, but hiring increased," 11 July 2017
For the past month or so, Snap’s stock price has trended ever downward, slumping back to around $17, wiping out any gains since its I.P.O. in March.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "Snapchat Is Getting Crushed," 11 July 2017
Their frothy, flower embellishments at the hem gave the silhouette a vibrant, downward dynamic.

— thomas admson, The Seattle Times, "Chanel aims high with starry ‘Eiffel Tower’ Paris show," 4 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'downward.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of downward

13th century

downward Synonyms

Synonyms

below, down (or downwards), over

Antonyms

up, upward (or upwards), upwardly

Related Words

facedown; low; downgrade, downhill, downstairs

Near Antonyms

aloft

downward

adjective

Definition of downward

1 :moving or extending downward

2 :descending from a head, origin, or source

—

downwardly

adverb

—

downwardness

noun

See downward defined for English-language learners

Examples of downward in a Sentence

Sales continued their downward trend.
the downward revision of an estimate

Recent Examples of downward from the Web

Losses like that lead to downward spirals and coaching searches.

— fletcher page, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky football vs. Southern Miss? More like UK vs. UK | Fletcher Page," 29 Aug. 2017
Mr. Golden also believes that in the decades since the VIX was introduced in 1993, its long-term trend has been to push consistently downward.

— landon thomas jr., New York Times, "Day Trading in Wall Street’s Complex ‘Fear Gauge’ Proliferates," 28 Aug. 2017
But such a downward path as charted in this paper is inherently politically destabilizing.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Lifetime income: Younger men are on track to earn less," 23 Aug. 2017
The line on that graph, though, shows the broad trend of Quinnipiac’s poll results — including a downward dip in recent surveys.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "Actually, Trump’s favorability ratings, like his approval, are dropping," 18 Aug. 2017
One of the big downward surprises was the record decline in hotel rates.

— sho chandra, Bloomberg.com, "The Wait for a U.S. Inflation Pickup Drags On, Clouding the Fed Outlook," 11 Aug. 2017
Despite the recent good news that honeybee populations have bounced back slightly in the last year, the general trend is still a downward one in Europe and North America.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "Confirmed: Night Lights Drive Pollinators Away From Plants," 7 Aug. 2017
Hotel revenue was on a six-month downward streak that ended in April, while room nights sold started to pick up again in February after four months in the red.

— chabeli herrera, miamiherald, "South Florida hotels struggled in 2016. Now it seems they are finally on the mend," 20 July 2017
Higher gasoline and crude oil inventories, high refinery output and lower demand are contributing to this downward trend.

— max b. baker, star-telegram, "Gas prices plummet going into July 4th holiday," 29 June 2017

First Known Use of downward

circa 1552

downward Synonyms

Synonyms

bowed, down, downcast, lowered

Near Antonyms

elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upward

DOWNWARD Defined for English Language Learners

downward

adverb

Definition of downward for English Language Learners

: from a higher place or level to a lower place or level
: toward the ground, floor, etc. : not up
: toward people with less power, money, etc.

downward

adjective

Definition of downward for English Language Learners

: moving or going from a higher place or level to a lower place or level
: moving or going toward the ground, floor, etc.
: changing to a smaller amount or lower number

DOWNWARD Defined for Kids

downward

adverb down·ward \ ˈdau̇n-wərd \

variants: or downwards \-wərdz\

Definition of downward for Students

:from a higher place, amount, or level to a lower one

The company's sales continue to go downward.

Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
—Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

downward

adjective

Definition of downward for Students

:going or moving from a higher place, amount, or level to a lower one

a downward slope

Law Dictionary

downward

adjective down·ward

legal Definition of downward

:going from a higher to a lower level

a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines

downward

adverb

legal Definition of downward

:from a higher to a lower level

instead of following the sentencing guidelines, the court departed downward

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for downward Spanish Central: Translation of downward Nglish: Translation of downward for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of downward for Arabic speakers

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Near Antonyms

downward

Definition of downward

downwardly

downwardness

Examples of downward in a Sentence

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First Known Use of downward

downward Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

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DOWNWARD Defined for English Language Learners

downward

Definition of downward for English Language Learners

downward

Definition of downward for English Language Learners

DOWNWARD Defined for Kids

downward

Definition of downward for Students

downward

Definition of downward for Students

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downward

legal Definition of downward

downward

legal Definition of downward

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