crestfallen

[krest-faw-luhn]

adjective

1. dejected; dispirited; discouraged.

2. having a drooping crest or head.

crestfallen

/ ˈkrɛstˌfɔːlən /

adjective

1. dejected, depressed, or disheartened

Other Word Forms

• crestfallenly adverb
• crestfallenness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crestfallen¹

First recorded in 1580–90; crest + fallen

Example Sentences

The boys looked crestfallen, and Penelope rushed to explain.

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The children, whose tendency to get carried away was exceeded only by their eagerness to please, looked crestfallen.

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"Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can't see," said a crestfallen Aspinall.

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Wales' players were crestfallen at the final whistle, glazed looks in their eyes as it dawned on them that a huge opportunity had slipped through their grasp.

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“She was crestfallen, but she recovered quickly,” Nuñez narrates dramatically as she drives away.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dejected 
• despondent 
• discouraged 
• dispirited