Adjacent Words

Downfall definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DOWNFALL, n.
1. A falling, or body of things falling; as the downfall of a flood.
2. Ruin; destruction; a sudden fall; or ruin by violence, in distinction from slow decay or declension; as the downfall of the Roman empire, occasioned by the conquests of the Northern nations; the downfall of a city.
3. The sudden fall, depression or ruin of reputation or estate. We speak of the downfall of pride or glory, and of distinguished characters.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation [syn: downfall, ruin, ruination]
2: the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist) [syn: precipitation, downfall]
3: a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the fall of the House of Hapsburg" [syn: fall, downfall] [ant: rise]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 13th century 1. a. a sudden fall (as from power) b. a fall (as of snow or rain) especially when sudden or heavy 2. something that causes a downfall (as of a person) <gambling was his downfall> • downfallen adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a fall from prosperity or power. b the cause of this. 2 a sudden heavy fall of rain etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Downfall Down"fall`, n. 1. A sudden fall; a body of things falling. Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid. --Holland. Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour. --Dryden. 2. A sudden descent from rank or state, reputation or happiness; destruction; ruin. Dire were the consequences which would follow the downfall of so important a place. --Motley.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(downfalls) 1. The downfall of a successful or powerful person or institution is their loss of success or power. His lack of experience had led to his downfall. ? rise N-COUNT: also N in pl, usu with poss 2. The thing that was a person's downfall caused them to fail or lose power. His honesty had been his downfall... = undoing N-COUNT: usu with poss

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Ruin, destruction, fall.

Moby Thesaurus

Waterloo, atrophy, bane, beating, bouleversement, brash, breakdown, burst of rain, cascade, cataract, chute, cloudburst, collapse, comedown, conquering, conquest, convulsion, crash, cropper, deathblow, debacle, decadence, declension, declination, decline, defeat, deflation, defluxion, degeneracy, degeneration, degradation, deluge, descending, descension, descent, destroyer, destruction, devolution, discomfiture, down, downbend, downcome, downcurve, downflow, downgrade, downpour, downrush, downtrend, downturn, downward trend, drencher, drop, dropping, drubbing, failure, fall, falling, flood, gravitation, gushing rain, headache, heavy rain, hiding, inclination, lambasting, lathering, licking, mastery, nose dive, overcoming, overthrow, overturn, plash, plummeting, pounce, pour, pratfall, problem, prostration, quietus, rainburst, rainspout, rainstorm, rapids, ruin, ruination, sabotage, scud, smash, soaker, soaking rain, spate, spout, stoop, stumble, subdual, subduing, subjugation, subversion, swoop, tailspin, thrashing, torrent of rain, trimming, trouble, trouncing, tumble, undoing, upheaval, upset, vanquishment, waterfall, waterspout, whipping