downfall
English · Thesaurus
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downfall
- /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
- /daʊnˈfɔːl/
Where it comes from
From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.
noun downfalls · downfal
- A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth. Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
- The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error. Orson Scott Card It is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead.
- An act of falling down. a downfall of rain
verb downfalls · downfalling · downfell · downfallen · downfal
- To fall down; deteriorate; decline. [...] wants to make civilization his subject, he will have a hard time proceeding with the sentence unless collapse is in his active vocabulary, for he cannot say "our civilization will downfall" or "fall down."
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fall, precipitation, breakdown, downturn, decrease, destruction, decline, ruination, wreck, ruin, falling, lapsing, lapse, loss, break-up, collapse
Translations
Every language
noun precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth
| Español | ocaso, decaimiento, decadencia, caída |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 衰亡 suibō, 滅亡 metsubō, 最期 saigo |
| 中文 | 倒臺 /倒台 dǎotái |
| हिन्दी | पतन patan, अधोगति adhogti |
| Português | ruína, queda |
| Français | chute |
| Deutsch | Niedergang, Untergang, Verfall |
| Italiano | caduta, tonfo, rovinio, rovescio |
| Ελληνικά | πτώση ptósi |
| Русский | паде́ние padénije, круше́ние krušénije, обва́л obvál, крах krax |
Talk about this word "downfall." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/downfall. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. downfall. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/downfall "downfall." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/downfall.Cite this
@misc{downfall_2026,
title = {downfall},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/downfall},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}