downer

[ dou-ner ]

/ ˈdaʊ nər /

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See synonyms for downer on Thesaurus.com

noun

Informal.

a depressant or sedative drug, especially a barbiturate.
a depressing experience, person, or situation.

Animal Husbandry. an old or diseased animal, especially one that cannot stand up.

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Origin of downer

1910–15, Americanism, for an earlier sense; 1965–70, for def. 1; down¹ + -er¹

Words nearby downer

downcycle, downdraft, downdraught, down East, down-easter, downer, Downers Grove, Downey, downfall, downfallen, downfield

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use downer in a sentence

It’s really hard because you don’t want to be the downer when your whole community is based around this idea of stoke.
Heather Hansman on Her New Book ‘Powder Days’|lwhelan|December 15, 2021|Outside Online
This can make my time in the outdoors a bit of a bummer or even a real downer.
How Can I Inspire My Teen to Love the Outdoors?|awise|October 14, 2021|Outside Online
On the one hand, it’s a relief that Another Round isn’t the bleak downer you think it’s going to be, a story about a man ruined by alcoholism.
Mads Mikkelson Can Do Anything. But He's Stuck in the Boring Oscar-Nominated Another Round|Stephanie Zacharek|March 19, 2021|Time
Stream it on Hulu This quirky and quiet adaptation of Jesse Andrews’ 2012 young adult novel sounds like a real downer.
The Best Teen Rom-Coms to Watch After You Finish the To All the Boys Trilogy|Annabel Gutterman|February 12, 2021|Time

But—not to be a Debbie Downer here—your death and my death are inevitable.
The New World of Anti-Aging Dentistry|Kent Sepkowitz|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unlike steroids, which make a guy crazy, HGH is mostly a quality-of-life downer.
Is HGH, Allegedly Alex Rodriguez’s Drug of Choice, Really So Bad?|Kent Sepkowitz|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
France does not like to see it described as an AIDS documentary, which inevitably sounds like something of a downer.
New Documentary ‘How to Survive a Plague’ Details ACT UP’s Heroic Role in AIDS Battle|Stephen Farber|September 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
On top of everything else, I do not want to seem like the Debbie Downer in this scenario.
Meghan McCain Says Yes to Legalizing Marijuana|Meghan McCain|June 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Few political watchers thought Romney would wrap anything up Tuesday, but the returns must still have come as a bit of a downer.
Super Tuesday: Mitt Romney’s Senior Citizen Surge|Michelle Cottle|March 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The accompanying portrait is from an oil painting in the possession of his grand-daughter, Mrs. Samuel Downer, of Dorchester.
Tea Leaves|Various
There was Downer, a little Freshman, white with the excitement of his first public performance.
At Start and Finish|William Lindsey
Here Dr. Eliphalet Downer, in single combat with a soldier, killed him with a bayonet.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14|Various
“Very well, Jerry Downer; you are dismissed,” and he waved Jerry out of the room.
Miss Ashton's New Pupil|Mrs. S. S. Robbins
Last fall I potted some of the Downer, and in the winter grew them in the house.
Locusts and Wild Honey|John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for downer

downer

/ (ˈdaʊnə) /

noun slang

Also called: down a barbiturate, tranquillizer, or narcoticCompare upper

a depressing experience

a state of depressionhe's on a downer today

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

downer

Origin of downer

Words nearby downer

Words related to downer

How to use downer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for downer