as in slump
a situation in which something (such as business or economic activity) decreases or becomes worse
—usually singular
an economic downturn There's been a downturn in the housing market.
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Recent Examples of downturn
Flack’s career took a commercial downturn after the difficult gestation of Feel Like Makin’ Love, but the album is uncompromising and inspired.
—
Al Shipley, SPIN, 8 May 2026
Doing so, the Assembly Democrat’s proposal argued, could better insulate the state during economic downturns.
—Andrew Graham
may 7, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
The late stage of the investment cycle refers to the highly speculative period in which amateur buyers bid up securities, quietly offloaded by institutional investors, that precedes a downturn.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 6 May 2026
As the biotech industry broadly experienced a post-pandemic downturn, sentiment turned specifically against cell and gene therapies.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for downturn
Al Shipley, SPIN, 8 May 2026
Doing so, the Assembly Democrat’s proposal argued, could better insulate the state during economic downturns.
—Andrew Graham
may 7, Sacbee.com, 7 May 2026
The late stage of the investment cycle refers to the highly speculative period in which amateur buyers bid up securities, quietly offloaded by institutional investors, that precedes a downturn.
—Sarah Min, CNBC, 6 May 2026
As the biotech industry broadly experienced a post-pandemic downturn, sentiment turned specifically against cell and gene therapies.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for downturn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downturn
Noun
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The entire Mets lineup has been marred in an uncharacteristic slump, but in the bottom of the fourth inning on Tuesday night at Citi Field, Juan Soto uncorked a very characteristic home run.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Few buyers Despite seemingly noteworthy discounts, there’s a long-term slump in condo sales.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That worsens overcapacity and deflation, while preventing that capital from going to healthier borrowers.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
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Officials said the chaotic incident quickly triggered a multi-agency pursuit, prompting officers to deploy tire-deflation devices along a highway before the situation escalated into a brief foot chase outside of Denver.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This is a significant decrease from more than 4 million acres of hazardous vegetation work completed during the last year of the Biden administration.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
7 May 2026
-
This marked a further decrease compared to Q2, during which revenues fell 3%.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Vogue,
7 May 2026
Noun
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For example, certain psychiatric illnesses have been shown to cause atrophy, or shrinkage, of parts of the brain.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
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Air drying is best to prevent shrinkage, but combining it with a low-heat dryer cycle minimizes wrinkles.—
Olivia McIntosh,
Martha Stewart,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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With the apparel market forecast to grow 2-4 percent per year between 2023 and 2028—a steep falloff from the 7–14 percent seen during the post-Covid recovery—executives are homing in on more immediate budget squeezes.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Footwear News,
6 May 2026
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The trend is more of a downward slope than an abrupt falloff, but the gradient is steep and represents a crisis to colleges dependent on filling classroom seats and dorm beds.—
Jeffrey Selingo,
The Atlantic,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The productivity of Toyota Motor’s assets declined over the full period 2016–2025, with a minor downtrend in asset turnover, according to a May 5 report by Price Target Research.—
Justina Lee,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
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These experts also invariably forecast a sharp downtrend in the inflation curve once the conflict ends.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This is the diminution of American power, the erosion of American power, and Trump is doing it willfully, with no strategic idea in his head.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2026
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In both films, the effect is of a diminution, a depersonalization—not to say, a desecration of the experience of horror that the documentary element embodies.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In a 2019 op-ed in The New York Times, Felix claimed that Nike offered her a 70 percent pay reduction during those negotiations.—
Tina Sturdevant,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
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Last month, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel announced the reduction of about 1,000 roles at the company, 16% of its staff.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downturn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downturn. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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