downward

Definitions

1. 1.From a higher to a lower condition; toward misery, humility, disgrace, or ruin. And downward fell into a groveling swine. Milton.
2. 2.From a remote time; from an ancestor or predecessor; from one to another in a descending line. A ring the county wears, That downward hath descended in his house, From son to son, some four or five descents. Shak.
3. 3.Moving or extending from a higher to a lower place; tending toward the earth or its center, or toward a lower level; declivous. With downward force That drove the sand along he took his way. Dryden.
4. 4.Descending from a head, origin, or source; as, a downward line of descent.
5. 5.Tending to a lower condition or state; depressed; dejected; as, downward thoughts. Sir P. Sidney.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

• What does "downward" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is downward.

• What is from a higher to a lower condition; toward misery, humility, disgrace, or ruin. And downward fell into a groveling swine. Milton called?
• What is moving or extending from a higher to a lower place; tending toward the earth or its center, or toward a lower level; declivous. With downward force That drove the sand along he took his way. Dryden called?
• What is descending from a head, origin, or source; as, a downward line of descent called?
• What is tending to a lower condition or state; depressed; dejected; as, downward thoughts. Sir P. Sidney called?