DOWNBEAT Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

downbeat 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of downbeat

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

downbeat

2 of 2

noun

as in downturn

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of downbeat

Adjective

The three new tracks push in different directions, exploring various shades of ambient and downbeat. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 18 July 2026 But consumers are still significantly more downbeat on the economy compared to before the war started. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 26 June 2026

Noun

The Kyrie opens with a strong D-major chord in the large orchestra that seems an obvious downbeat but turns out to be an upbeat. — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026 The physical thing is universal, like, downbeat is always down in every part of the world. — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for downbeat

Recent Examples of Synonyms for downbeat

Adjective

The hopeless romantic in me was shoved out of the way by the football fan.

— Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
The wartime mood among European and American intellectuals was hopeless, or, rather, in her estimation, helpless.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of hopeless

Noun

The 2008 financial crisis, the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, saw the Army enlist about 80,500 active-duty recruits.

— Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Jane Street, which invests in Situational Awareness and directly invests in AI ventures, suffered a rare and severe downturn amid volatile stock markets.

— Katherine Doherty, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of downturn

Adjective

Unauthorized sequels reveal the extremes of why people make movies in the first place, from purely cynical money grabs to pure — even naive — devotion to characters and their world.

— Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026
Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, an irritable, cynical weatherman sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to report a story about the town’s quaint groundhog ceremony.

— David Faris, TheWeek, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of cynical

Noun

But a material slowdown in its economy would send shock waves around the world, especially among China’s major trading partners, not only in the Asia Pacific but also in countries elsewhere whose economies have become intertwined with China’s.

— Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026
The pain at the pump has drawn close attention, but less focus has been paid to a slowdown in wage increases that has coincided with the surge in costs.

— Max Zahn, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of slowdown

Adjective

Yet these concepts often seem lost on the many economists who think many Americans are overly pessimistic.

— Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2026
And not be pessimistic either, but the Blaugrana are just one injury to Pau Cubarsi away from having Gerard Martin and Eric Garcia as their main center backs.

— Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of pessimistic

Noun

Creator Zoe Lister-Jones stars as Mae, an urbanite at a marital impasse, looking ahead to a future that promises only domestic stagnation.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Aurelius uses similar techniques across the record, which lends to a certain sameyness by the end, though the tracks’ varied tempos, each one plotted at a different point on the downtempo spectrum, help offset any stagnation.

— Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026