downcast
adjective · verb · noun
Simple meaning
A facial expression, etc.: looking downwards, usually as a sign of discouragement, sadness, etc., or sometimes modesty.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
downkastSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdaʊnkæst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Of the eyes, a facial expression, etc.: looking downwards, usually as a sign of discouragement, sadness, etc., or sometimes modesty.
Of a person or thing: cast or thrown to the ground.
Of a thing: directed downwards.
verb
To cast or throw (something) downwards; also, to drop or lower (something).
To turn (the eyes) downwards, usually as a sign of discouragement, sadness, etc., or sometimes modesty.
figurative
To make (someone) feel despondent or discouraged; to discourage, to sadden.
To demolish or tear down (a building, etc.).
noun
countable
An act of looking downwards, usually as a sign of discouragement, sadness, etc., or sometimes modesty; hence (uncountable, archaic), dejection, melancholy.
A ventilation shaft through which air enters a mine
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of a person or thing: cast or thrown to the ground.
Used this way, downcast is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.