downward

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Toward a lower level, whether in physical space, in a hierarchy, or in amount or value.

   • His position in society moved ever downward.
   • The natural disasters put downward pressure on the creditworthiness of the nation’s insurance groups.
   • [A] ring the county wears, / That downward hath succeeded in his house / From son to son, some four or five descents
2. 2

   At a lower level.

   • Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man / And downward Fish […]
3. 3

   Southward.

   • If we turn to the New World, we find that among the American Indians, from the Eskimo of Alaska downward to Brazil and still farther south, homosexual customs have been very frequently observed.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Moving, sloping or oriented down.

      • He spoke with a downward glance.
      • But this foul, grim, and urchin-snouted boar, Whose downward eye still looketh for a grave, Ne’er saw the beauteous livery that he wore;
      • […] in the Western Sky, the downward Sun Looks out illustrious from amid the Flush Of broken Clouds […]
   2. 5

      Located at a lower level.

The neighborhood

• synonymdown
• synonymdownwards
• antonymup
• antonymupwards