as in accident
something (as a situation or event) that is depressing
that story of drug addiction was a real downer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of downer
And not to be too much of a downer here, but all of us living in the United States probably need to be reminded that living in an autocracy would suck for a lot of reasons.
—
ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2025
The only downer came a bit later when Blue Origin's Ariane Cornell confirmed that the first stage did not successfully return to a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
—Ars Technica, 17 Jan. 2025
And while all that sounds like a downer, the researchers found Gen Z to be rather optimistic.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, WWD, 11 Mar. 2025
That downer of a season led to a national search for a new coach, leading to Bibby, the former Sacramento Kings guard.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downer
ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2025
The only downer came a bit later when Blue Origin's Ariane Cornell confirmed that the first stage did not successfully return to a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
—Ars Technica, 17 Jan. 2025
And while all that sounds like a downer, the researchers found Gen Z to be rather optimistic.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, WWD, 11 Mar. 2025
That downer of a season led to a national search for a new coach, leading to Bibby, the former Sacramento Kings guard.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downer
Noun
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The incident occurred on the Tuolumne Grove paved trail, which was temporarily closed following the accident.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
31 July 2025
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Running back Najee Harris remains on the non-football injury list after sustaining an eye injury in a July 4 fireworks accident.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
31 July 2025
Noun
-
Her T-shirt bore Ozzy Osbourne’s name, a tribute to the Black Sabbath singer, whose death was announced earlier Tuesday.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
24 July 2025
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Children with wells within three miles (five kilometers), of their home bore the greatest risk.—
Lisa McKenzie,
The Conversation,
17 July 2025
Noun
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There are just so many ups and downs and so many unknowns.—
Stephanie Wenger,
People.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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But those highlights don’t show the uglier, grittier side of practice for the Carolina Panthers rookie wideout, whose first NFL training camp has featured plenty of ups and downs.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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It’s not been a great start to the year for Blumhouse, which also produced springtime bummer The Woman in the Yard.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 July 2025
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For nostalgia reasons, that's a bummer, but my kids have grown up hopping around the stepping stones in my garden and looking for geckos among the rocks and that's cool, too.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downer. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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