fallen

American  

[faw-luhn] / ˈfɔ lən /

verb

1. past participle of fall.

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adjective

1. having dropped or come down from a higher place, from an upright position, or from a higher level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.

2. on the ground; prostrate; down flat.

   Exhausted, the racers lay fallen by the road.

3. degraded or immoral.

4. (of a woman) having lost her chastity.

5. overthrown, destroyed, or conquered.

   a fallen city.

6. dead.

   fallen troops.

fallen British  

/ ˈfɔːlən /

verb

1. the past participle of fall

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adjective

1. having sunk in reputation or honour

   a fallen woman

2. killed in battle with glory

   our fallen heroes

3. defeated

Other Word Forms

• unfallen adjective

Etymology

Origin of fallen

First recorded before 900, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Plenty of people have fallen for the promise of a forever-small pig.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Around 20% of global oil supply normally transits through this waterway, and tanker traffic has fallen sharply with vessels anchoring outside the strait amid security concerns,” they added.

From The Wall Street Journal

A few commended Chait personally but said he had fallen short in managing school safety issues — which were under his jurisdiction in his immediate previous role as chief of operations.

From Los Angeles Times

Sales have fallen by half during the first two months of this year compared to last year amid tougher sanctions enforcement, reduced gas exports and lower prices.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, one month after an escalation, gold had fallen an average of 1%, suggesting that buying on the news of a growing conflict may not pay off.

From Barron's

Related Words

• collapsed
• decayed