as in hopeless
emphasizing or expecting the worst
a downbeat prediction for the company's sales performance in the upcoming year
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in downturn
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of downbeat
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Amorim looked deflated, downbeat.
—Mark Critchley, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 15 Dec. 2025
At some point, the film eventually goes through the motions until its inevitable downbeat climax, at which point its dramatic shortcomings become difficult to ignore.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Adjective
This is the downbeat tone and tenor of the Illinois law and other such laws being drafted.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Amorim looked deflated, downbeat.
—Mark Critchley, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Noun
At 1:35, the track thrives on a trashy downbeat and swaggering vocal line that suddenly morph into an EDM outro.
—Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 15 Dec. 2025
At some point, the film eventually goes through the motions until its inevitable downbeat climax, at which point its dramatic shortcomings become difficult to ignore.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downbeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downbeat
Adjective
-
From what looked like a hopeless position just a few weeks ago, the subscribers are now off the bottom of the table and gearing up for a potential title challenge.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
And if the hypotheticals are not enough to dissuade, history is littered with teams trading away their future for immediate glories, seeing their plans implode, and being left with a ruinous future that becomes a hopeless present while another team reaps the benefits.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
While the boom steadied the region during the COVID pandemic, which saw entire industries changed overnight, some warehouses now sit empty, with many shuttering during a recent downturn.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
When it was enacted, amendments were included to allow for adjustments during economic downturns and fiscal emergencies.—
J.B. Jennings,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In his experiences and chronicles of the great ideological battles of the twentieth century, Curzio Malaparte was a shape-shifter—pitiless, clinical, cynical, unsentimental, indifferent to morality and idealism.—
Leah Downey,
The New York Review of Books,
7 Feb. 2026
-
That didn’t happen, not least because of the cynical fecklessness of regional powers.—
Juan Pablo Spinetto,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
More industries are retooling around AI after experiencing slowdowns in their core businesses.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Advertisement Digestive slowdown and constipation Water is essential for moving things through your gastrointestinal system.—
Katharine Gammon,
Time,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Over the last several years, inflation, domestic conflict, economic uncertainty, and political upheaval have made many Americans feel more pessimistic about the future.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Glaucon’s characterization anticipates the Hobbesian view of the world—pessimistic and fearful of what unsocialized humans in the state of nature can do to each other.—
Paul Rosenzweig,
Washington Post,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The downward trends — which criminologists say are in line with a national downswing in killings and violence in many big cities — describe a year at times punctuated by cases that rattled the city and dominated headlines, including the fatal shooting of two migrants at a Dallas immigration office.—
Chase Rogers,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Both studio efforts appear on at least one additional roster, and the blockbusters are on the downswing on each and every one of them.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The dating scene is bleak, or at least increasingly difficult to navigate.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
But none of them have felt as bleak or despairing as Israeli director Anat Even’s scathing cinematic essay, Collapse (Effondrement).—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
After all, gold doesn't generate cash flow and can experience prolonged periods of stagnation or decline.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Quite possibly, Aldi’s supply chain strategy is the greatest opportunity to disrupt the stagnation in Colorado’s food market and create positive change for consumers.—
Jack Buffington,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downbeat. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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