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Definition of Downfall
1. Noun. Failure that results in a loss of position or reputation.
Generic synonyms: Failure
Specialized synonyms: Finish
Derivative terms: Ruin
2. Noun. The falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist).
Specialized synonyms: Fine Spray, Hail, Rain, Rainfall, Sleet, Snow, Snowfall, Virga
Terms within: Diamond Dust, Frost Mist, Frost Snow, Ice Crystal, Ice Needle, Poudrin, Snow Mist
Generic synonyms: Atmospheric Condition, Conditions, Weather, Weather Condition
Derivative terms: Precipitate
3. Noun. A sudden decline in strength or number or importance. "The fall of the House of Hapsburg"
Generic synonyms: Weakening
Specialized synonyms: Anticlimax
Derivative terms: Fall, Fall
Antonyms: Rise
Definition of Downfall
1. n. A sudden fall; a body of things falling.
Definition of Downfall
1. Noun. A precipitous decline in fortune; a rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth. ¹
2. Noun. The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error. ¹
3. Verb. (intransitive) To fall down; deteriorate; decline. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Downfall
1. a sudden fall [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Downfall
Literary usage of Downfall
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Methods of Practical Hygiene by Karl Bernhard Lehmann (1893)
"The observation of the downfall is, from various grounds, ... The quantity of
the downfall and its distribution (the number of rainy days) has a great ..."
2. A History of English Dramatic Literature to the Death of Queen Anne by Adolphus William Ward (1899)
"Sir John Oldcastle here appears as nothing more than an injured 1 The speeches
of Leicester, downfall, iv. 1, are very effective; the references to the bear ..."
3. The History of Ancient Art by Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1872)
"The really precise time at which the entire downfall of art occurred was previous
to the age of Constantine, at the time of the great disorder occasioned by ..."
4. Library of the World's Best Literature: Ancient and Modern by Edward Cornelius Towne (1898)
"Zola traces their downfall in the pitiless and intimate fashion characteristic
of him, and not difficult with characters created to be analyzed. ..."
5. The Cambridge Modern History by Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1907)
"downfall of Continental System. to contraband trade, as were the silks and muslins
of southern climes. Consequently the export trade all but vanished, ..."
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