as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
a downbeat prediction for the company's sales performance in the upcoming year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in downturn
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 downbeat
Ime Ekpo, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Doors at the Longhorn Ballroom open at 6:30 p.m. on May 29 for the birthday benefit, with downbeat at 7:30.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 2025
Reuters, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
Those two updates could be adding to downbeat sentiment Friday, Mayfield told CNBC.
—Sean Conlon,brian Evans, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Adjective
The album is almost entirely instrumental, featuring a polyphonic blend of percussion, strings, keyboards, synths, and woodwinds, with André’s flute driving the downbeat.
—Ime Ekpo, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Doors at the Longhorn Ballroom open at 6:30 p.m. on May 29 for the birthday benefit, with downbeat at 7:30.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 2025
Noun
Packaging food company Hormel Foods tumbled 13% after issuing a downbeat quarterly profit forecast.
—Reuters, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
Those two updates could be adding to downbeat sentiment Friday, Mayfield told CNBC.
—Sean Conlon,brian Evans, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downbeat
Adjective
-
Nearly half of them reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless and experiencing sleep disturbances.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The movie stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette in a story about a hopeless romantic who makes a wish that his long-time crush falls in love with him.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sometimes a market-wide downturn will drag a Best Stock down into the depths with it.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Outside of health care and social assistance, a sector in which job growth seems to be unaffected by over-all trends, the downturn in hiring extended across large parts of the economy, with fewer than half of all private-sector industries adding jobs last month.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Nicole Kidman adds just the right amount of menace as a villainous taxidermist, but the heart of the movie lies in its celebration of kindness, decency and family—values that feel refreshingly radical in our cynical times.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
And there is often an expectation of escapism in romance that precludes dealing realistically with money — or, for big media blockbusters, a cynical assumption that audiences won't enjoy a romcom which also takes the logistics of life seriously.—
Chelsea Fagan,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Investors flocked to bonds because of signs of a slowdown in the labor market.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The metal's price surge this year underscores its role in portfolio diversification, particularly as equity markets face risks from economic slowdowns.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Losing confidence in landing a job Americans are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects of getting a new job.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Initial assumptions reacting to the April surge in volatility in the financial markets were broadly pessimistic.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Most songs and albums are on the downswing, but Osbourne manages something unexpected this week in America.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Even at 37 years old, on the downswing of his career — and even coming back from chronic inflammatory response syndrome and symptoms of long COVID — this is a job Toews might succeed in.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
That's rather bleak, while Charlie Sheen's life has just been bonkers.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This dependency breeds complacency, trapping organizations in a cycle of mediocrity and stagnation.—
Glenn Llopis,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
At home, Russia’s wartime economy looks like a parody of Soviet stagnation, exactly what Putin warned against in the early years of his presidency.—
Jeremy Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downbeat. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share