fallen
Americanverb
adjective
-
having dropped or come down from a higher place, from an upright position, or from a higher level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.
-
on the ground; prostrate; down flat.
Exhausted, the racers lay fallen by the road.
-
degraded or immoral.
-
(of a woman) having lost her chastity.
-
overthrown, destroyed, or conquered.
a fallen city.
-
dead.
fallen troops.
verb
adjective
-
having sunk in reputation or honour
a fallen woman
-
killed in battle with glory
our fallen heroes
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defeated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fallen
First recorded before 900, for the adjective
Explanation
Something that's fallen has dropped to the ground. You might collect fallen apples to make into cider or applesauce. The most literal sense of something fallen is just what it sounds like — an object that's moved from a high place to a lower place, usually due to gravity. There are also some figurative meanings: a fallen soldier has died on the battlefield, and a fallen person has committed a moral sin or ruined his reputation. In the 17th century, fallen frequently meant "morally ruined," more often describing a women than a man.
Vocabulary lists containing fallen
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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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.
“By February 2026, tariffs had contributed 2.9 percentage points to goods price inflation, and without them goods prices would have fallen slightly,” New York Fed researchers wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Postmaster George Clarke, spending his third season at Port Lockroy, said: "I've really fallen in love with the Antarctic wilderness"
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
At the funeral service on Wednesday, patriotic songs blaring, the city's deputy mayor Nguyen Manh Cuong said authorities "will not overlook any opportunity or method to continue the journey of searching for the fallen comrades".
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
China’s fertility rate has now fallen below 1.0, meaning the average woman in the country is having fewer than one child.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Ahead, a fallen tree spanned the width of the river, creating a natural bridge.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
