crestfallen
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of crestfallen
Explanation
If you are crestfallen, you are dark, depressed, and down in the dumps. You are in need of a pep talk, or at least a hug. Although experts can't agree on the origins of crestfallen, they do know it has something to do with fallen or defeated animals. Some say it is cocks, with their crested heads, that are responsible for the words' origins. Others think it has to do with horses bowing their heads (touching their heads to the crest of their chests) when bested in battle. No matter which animal gave us the word, today's humans are crestfallen when they are in low spirits.
Vocabulary lists containing crestfallen
Of Mice and Men
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Lord of the Flies
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My sibling said she felt crestfallen and likened it to discovering there was no Santa Claus.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
Fatemah, who was standing in line for bread at a neighborhood bakery, seemed crestfallen as she explained how this Nowruz, which means “new day” in Persian, was even worse than others.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
A team man, the crestfallen Pope would have only been thinking about the door he had just unlocked and pushed open for Australia - a door the hosts would spend the day strolling straight through.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
"Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can't see," said a crestfallen Aspinall.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 2025
Parvati set off for Divination five minutes later looking slightly crestfallen.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
