downward
Also downwards. from a higher to a lower place or condition.
down from a source or beginning: As the river flows downward, it widens.
from a past time, predecessor, or ancestor: The estate was handed downward from generation to generation.
moving or tending to a lower place or condition.
descending from a source or beginning.
Origin of downward
1Other words from downward
- down·ward·ly, adverb
- down·ward·ness, noun
Words Nearby downward
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use downward in a sentence
“I’m hopeful the downward trend in positive cases means that we can start shifting our focus on reopening things and less on enforcement,” he said.
Despite Crackdown Announcement, Not Much COVID-19 Enforcement Is Happening | Jesse Marx | February 11, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThe longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to turn emissions downward.
Countries must ramp up climate pledges by 80 percent to hit key Paris target, study finds | Brady Dennis | February 9, 2021 | Washington PostIn theory, those policies should also help ease the burden to families of raising children, thus slowing the downward spiral in the nation’s birth rate.
Head of Tokyo Olympic committee says it must limit women because they talk too much | Clay Chandler | February 4, 2021 | FortuneFor a country whose economy has been on a downward slope since demonetisation in 2016, India’s management of the pandemic proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
India hopes for a V-shaped recovery, but will it give the unemployed their careers back? | Aarefa Johari | February 3, 2021 | QuartzBe aware there is some visual distortion with these lenses when looking downward.
Best ski goggles: What to look for in a pair you’ll love | Eric Alt | January 20, 2021 | Popular-Science
The now-convicted felons will hear their sentences in January, but their story continues to spiral downward.
This downward spiral involving local power politics was obvious to the Americans in the valley.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley | Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman | November 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo his fellow survivors and to the audience, this delusion indicates another slip on a downward spiral.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero | Regina Lizik | October 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll of these rules grew organically from the community rather than being dictated downward by a central authority.
The number of families who struggle to put food on the table has barely inched downward, even though employment is up.
Now here was a lover's meeting, not lacking the shy, downward glance of dark eyes as steel-blue eyes flashed frank admiration.
Dope | Sax RohmerTheir path here separated, Mrs. Martin following the downward course of the sandy lane, and Dorothy climbing the hill.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieOne swift downward thrust Garnache made at the mass that wriggled under his cloak.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniRising to a point where it cools, the vapour gathers back on the rafts and tends again to weight the cloud downward.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerWhen they start downward they have, as observations show, a temperature not much above the freezing point of salt water.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
British Dictionary definitions for downward
/ (ˈdaʊnwəd) /
descending from a higher to a lower level, condition, position, etc
descending from a beginning
a variant of downwards
Derived forms of downward
- downwardly, adverb
- downwardness, noun
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
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