as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
a downbeat prediction for the company's sales performance in the upcoming year
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in downturn
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of downbeat
Alison Herman, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026
Consumers, however, remain downbeat and expect unemployment to rise this year.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
American consumers in December remained downbeat about the state of the economy, a new survey shows.
—CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Adjective
In bringing Camille and Issei to life, the two actors have helped build a world that’s worth the return trip, even one that’s a little less exciting and more downbeat than the maiden voyage.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026
Consumers, however, remain downbeat and expect unemployment to rise this year.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Noun
The downbeat for Kapanen is consistency.
—Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
American consumers in December remained downbeat about the state of the economy, a new survey shows.
—CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downbeat
Adjective
-
After a while, a group of hopeless employees – sent to a training program – wreaks havoc on each one of them.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2026
-
There were definitely points on my journey where things seemed dark and sort of hopeless.—
Zulekha Nathoo,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Firms disproportionately shed routine jobs during economic downturns, when efficiency pressure peaks.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Extended sizes for women’s apparel on Target’s website fell 37% from March 2025 to March 2026, with a 30% downturn in just the past six months, according to data from retail intelligence firm EDITED.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Like [being in] the worst possible circumstances without giving up, without becoming cynical, without putting your head in the sand.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
-
There, the naïve, bright-eyed woman moves in with a cynical, down-on-his-luck actor (Tituss Burgess), and the two push each other to look at the world in new ways.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Fears leading to a travel slowdown After news of rising airfare costs and geopolitical tensions potentially leading to security risks like sleeper cells, the shutdown's airport chaos was the nail in the coffin for Americans who are outright canceling their trips.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The slowdown of the editing rhythm is all the more noticeable because of how playful Lee and Borgli are at the top.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And yet Craig is not pessimistic about the long arc.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Yet Kang is pessimistic that users will actually adopt adequate security practices given rabid AI adoption.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
After a little early-2000s time on a downswing, the combo of a pink, translucent base and white tips has become a beautiful no-brainer for so many of us.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
17 Mar. 2026
-
That group had known nothing but playing into February until the 6-11 downswing last season.—
Sam McDowell
Updated March 4,
Kansas City Star,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That’s partly because their bleak ending feels like a foregone conclusion from the start, even as Levinson’s frequently funny script crackles with comic depravity.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
While the subject matter is bleak, Almodóvar balances the darkness with a tenderness and sensitivity that comes from a career of exploring women's lives at their most intimate.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Harvard economists Lawrence Katz and Claudia Goldin found in September 2025 that the college wage premium remains, but has barely moved since 2000, while the San Francisco Fed attributed that stagnation primarily to less demand for those workers, in a working paper shortly afterward.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
4 Apr. 2026
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The home here is a ramshackle London town house where a famed painter, Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), is spending his final years in a haze of creative stagnation and lingering renown.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downbeat. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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