downfalls

plural of downfall
1
as in ruins
something that is the cause of one's ultimate failure or loss of life an insatiable love of money would be their downfall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
3
4
as in rains
a steady falling of water from the sky in significant quantity we ducked under an overhang to shelter ourselves from the sudden downfall

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 downfalls The Bills defense, one of the downfalls, did get the stop needed in this one and held off a late scoring drive. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2026 Rodriguez doesn’t seem too concerned about the potential of any downfalls in communicating calls on the field. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2026 Thematic methodologies have been one of the downfalls of contemporary museology (and art history) generally, a crisis of collective memory and the historical imagination overall. — George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026 But the Explorer’s acceleration is loud, prompting one of the vehicle’s few engine downfalls. — James Raia, Mercury News, 5 July 2026 What appears to be a series of dramatic personal downfalls is in fact part of a broader pattern shaped by the country’s political system. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May 2026 Lushly photographed and boosted by a few killer tracks, Daisy Jones & the Six delivers the lurid delights and downfalls of a satisfying behind-the-music tale. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026 Now, as crypto analysts speculate whether further downfalls are in Bitcoin’s future, crypto bros are struggling to maintain a cohesive narrative in the face of such epic volatility. — Joe Wilkins Published Jan 29, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026 One of the Miami Hurricanes’ biggest downfalls last season was their lack of cornerback depth, and how quickly that was exposed as soon as injuries hit. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downfalls
Noun
  • Hikers will uncover Romanesque ruins, ancient forests, crumbling monasteries, and orange groves along their way.
    — Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But a more apt comparison might be the Mirabilia Urbis Romae, in which Medieval scholars deciphered the staggering ruins of Classical Rome.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Similar deteriorations took place in Tuscany and in Naples.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight company Musk founded in 2002, has endured a few more fiery demises of the mammoth Starship rocket since that explosive debut.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 1 May 2026
  • No reason was provided for the shops’ demises.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Very heavy to heavy rains are also forecast in some areas in the central, eastern and southern regions, including the capital, Bangkok, over the weekend.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Heavy rains fell in many areas of southeastern and northeastern Spain on Friday.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Unlike deaths from a drug such as fentanyl, no government agency tracks the number of deaths connected to energy drinks nationally.
    — Kent Sepkowitz, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Whether or not Hal was right to entice Zoe (upon whose shoulders the carnage ultimately falls), his decision to circumvent the Guardians’ chain of command is what ultimately leads to countless deaths and his imprisonment for reckless endangerment.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Key parameters such as time to recover (TTR), revenue at risk, lead times, OTIF and service-level degradations can be evaluated and compared across mitigation options.
    — Dileep Rai, Forbes.com, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The answer is not much—Fennell makes explicit, via sadomasochism, the power differentials and emotional degradations that are so often ambiguous in the original.
    — Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Understanding, Duminil-Copin argued, is not gained solely through theorems and proofs but also through setbacks.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
  • To avoid any setbacks and ensure the young prince’s safety, the school has already banned photography and as smartphones on campus.
    — Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Several points along the Missouri River downstream from Kansas City remain under flood warnings after last week’s storms.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Warmer water and long-term sea level rise have already lifted sea levels along the coast, and big swells from distant storms are damaging shorelines.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Downfalls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downfalls. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster