"downfall" meaning in English

See downfall in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ [noun], /daʊnˈfɔːl/ [verb] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav [Southern-England], LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav [Southern-England] Forms: downfalls [plural]
Etymology: From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century. Etymology templates: {{prefix|en|down|fall}} down- + fall Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} downfall (countable and uncountable, plural downfalls)
  1. A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth. Tags: countable, uncountable Synonyms: fall (english: precipitous decline in fortune), doom (english: death or rapid deterioration) Translations (precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth): անկում (ankum) (Armenian), süqut (Azerbaijani), dağılma (Azerbaijani), провал (proval) [masculine] (Bulgarian), крах (krah) [masculine] (Bulgarian), 倒臺 (Chinese Mandarin), 倒台 (dǎotái) (Chinese Mandarin), neergang [masculine] (Dutch), falego (Esperanto), kukistuminen (Finnish), tuho (Finnish), chute [feminine] (French), Niedergang [masculine] (German), Untergang [masculine] (German), Verfall [masculine] (German), πτώση (ptósi) [feminine] (Greek), bukás (Hungarian), kudarc (Hungarian), caduta [feminine] (Italian), tonfo [masculine] (Italian), rovinio [masculine] (Italian), rovescio [masculine] (Italian), 衰亡 (suibō) (Japanese), 滅亡 (metsubō) (Japanese), 最期 (saigo) (Japanese), ruīna [feminine] (Latin), പതനം (patanaṁ) (Malayalam), hinganga (Maori), upadek [masculine] (Polish), ruína [feminine] (Portuguese), queda [feminine] (Portuguese), urma (Quechua), паде́ние (padénije) [neuter] (Russian), круше́ние (krušénije) [neuter] (Russian), обва́л (obvál) [masculine] (Russian), крах (krax) [masculine] (Russian), ocaso [masculine] (Spanish), declive [masculine] (Spanish), decaimiento [masculine] (Spanish), decadencia [feminine] (Spanish), אומקומעניש (umkumenish) [neuter] (Yiddish)
    Sense id: en-downfall-en-noun-GZz869gi Categories (other): English terms prefixed with down- Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with down-: 15 14 38 33 Disambiguation of 'precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth': 95 2 3
  2. The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error. Tags: countable, uncountable Translations (cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error): tuho (Finnish), Ruin [masculine] (German), ήττα (ítta) [feminine] (Greek), rovina [feminine] (Italian), 致命傷 (chimeishō) (Japanese), whakahinganga (Maori)
    Sense id: en-downfall-en-noun-xAfuWpUo Categories (other): English terms prefixed with down- Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with down-: 15 14 38 33 Disambiguation of 'cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error': 3 95 2
  3. An act of falling down. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-downfall-en-noun-9brcrRBI Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with down- Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 23 5 65 7 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with down-: 15 14 38 33
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: downfal [archaic] Derived forms: Operation Downfall

Verb

IPA: /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/ [noun], /daʊnˈfɔːl/ [verb] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav [Southern-England], LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav [Southern-England] Forms: downfalls [present, singular, third-person], downfalling [participle, present], downfell [past], downfallen [participle, past]
Etymology: From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century. Etymology templates: {{prefix|en|down|fall}} down- + fall Head templates: {{en-verb|downfalls|downfalling|downfell|downfallen}} downfall (third-person singular simple present downfalls, present participle downfalling, simple past downfell, past participle downfallen)
  1. (intransitive) To fall down; deteriorate; decline. Tags: intransitive Derived forms: down-fallen, downfallen
    Sense id: en-downfall-en-verb-sFiQyI0Q Categories (other): English terms prefixed with down- Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with down-: 15 14 38 33
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: downfal [archaic]

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for downfall meaning in English (16.0kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "Operation Downfall"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "down",
        "3": "fall"
      },
      "expansion": "down- + fall",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "downfalls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "downfall (countable and uncountable, plural downfalls)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 14 38 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with down-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0 – 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2019-05-09",
          "text": "The Black Cats contributed to their own downfall for the only goal when Titus Bramble, making his first appearance since Boxing Day, and Michael Turner, let Phil Jones' cross bounce across the six-yard box as [Wayne] Rooney tucked in at the back post.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth."
      ],
      "id": "en-downfall-en-noun-GZz869gi",
      "links": [
        [
          "precipitous",
          "precipitous"
        ],
        [
          "decline",
          "decline#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "fortune",
          "fortune"
        ],
        [
          "death",
          "death"
        ],
        [
          "rapid",
          "rapid#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "deterioration",
          "deterioration"
        ],
        [
          "status",
          "status"
        ],
        [
          "wealth",
          "wealth"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "english": "precipitous decline in fortune",
          "word": "fall"
        },
        {
          "english": "death or rapid deterioration",
          "word": "doom"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "ankum",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "անկում"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "süqut"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "dağılma"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "proval",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "провал"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "krah",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "крах"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "倒臺"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "dǎotái",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "倒台"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "neergang"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "falego"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "kukistuminen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "tuho"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "chute"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Niedergang"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Untergang"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Verfall"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ptósi",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "πτώση"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "bukás"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "kudarc"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "caduta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tonfo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "rovinio"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "rovescio"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "suibō",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "衰亡"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "metsubō",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "滅亡"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "saigo",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "最期"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ruīna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ml",
          "lang": "Malayalam",
          "roman": "patanaṁ",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "പതനം"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "hinganga"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "upadek"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ruína"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "queda"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "qu",
          "lang": "Quechua",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "word": "urma"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "padénije",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "паде́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "krušénije",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "круше́ние"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "obvál",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "обва́л"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "krax",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "крах"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ocaso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "declive"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "decaimiento"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "decadencia"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "umkumenish",
          "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "אומקומעניש"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 14 38 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with down-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Orson Scott Card\nIt is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error."
      ],
      "id": "en-downfall-en-noun-xAfuWpUo",
      "links": [
        [
          "cause",
          "cause#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "critical",
          "critical"
        ],
        [
          "blow",
          "blow#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "error",
          "error"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "word": "tuho"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Ruin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ítta",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ήττα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "rovina"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "chimeishō",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "word": "致命傷"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 95 2",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
          "word": "whakahinganga"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "23 5 65 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 14 38 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with down-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "a downfall of rain",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An act of falling down."
      ],
      "id": "en-downfall-en-noun-9brcrRBI",
      "links": [
        [
          "act",
          "act#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "falling down",
          "fall down"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/daʊnˈfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "word": "downfal"
    }
  ],
  "word": "downfall"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "down",
        "3": "fall"
      },
      "expansion": "down- + fall",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "downfalls",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfalling",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfell",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfallen",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "downfalls",
        "2": "downfalling",
        "3": "downfell",
        "4": "downfallen"
      },
      "expansion": "downfall (third-person singular simple present downfalls, present participle downfalling, simple past downfell, past participle downfallen)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "15 14 38 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with down-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "down-fallen"
        },
        {
          "word": "downfallen"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1977, Mina P. Shaughnessy, Errors and expectations: a guide for the teacher of basic writing",
          "text": "[...] 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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, Peter Vink, Ernst A. P. Koningsveld, Steven Dhondt, Human factors in organizational design and management-VI",
          "text": "Common belief has been that in the future the number of middle managers will downfall due to empowerment and team-building.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, Lithuanian physics journal",
          "text": "It should be noted that the magnitude of satellites decreases when tuning out of degeneracy, and in the wavelength range of 1.2-1.3 pm it downfalls to the value of 10-15% of the main spike magnitude."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra",
          "text": "[...] As goodly air as ever From lunar orb downfell— Be it by hazard, Or supervened it by arrogancy?",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fall down; deteriorate; decline."
      ],
      "id": "en-downfall-en-verb-sFiQyI0Q",
      "links": [
        [
          "fall",
          "fall"
        ],
        [
          "deteriorate",
          "deteriorate"
        ],
        [
          "decline",
          "decline"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To fall down; deteriorate; decline."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/daʊnˈfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "word": "downfal"
    }
  ],
  "word": "downfall"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms prefixed with down-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Operation Downfall"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "down",
        "3": "fall"
      },
      "expansion": "down- + fall",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "downfalls",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "downfall (countable and uncountable, plural downfalls)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0 – 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2019-05-09",
          "text": "The Black Cats contributed to their own downfall for the only goal when Titus Bramble, making his first appearance since Boxing Day, and Michael Turner, let Phil Jones' cross bounce across the six-yard box as [Wayne] Rooney tucked in at the back post.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "precipitous",
          "precipitous"
        ],
        [
          "decline",
          "decline#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "fortune",
          "fortune"
        ],
        [
          "death",
          "death"
        ],
        [
          "rapid",
          "rapid#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "deterioration",
          "deterioration"
        ],
        [
          "status",
          "status"
        ],
        [
          "wealth",
          "wealth"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "english": "precipitous decline in fortune",
          "word": "fall"
        },
        {
          "english": "death or rapid deterioration",
          "word": "doom"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Orson Scott Card\nIt is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cause",
          "cause#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "critical",
          "critical"
        ],
        [
          "blow",
          "blow#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "error",
          "error"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "a downfall of rain",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An act of falling down."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "act",
          "act#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "falling down",
          "fall down"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/daʊnˈfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "word": "downfal"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "ankum",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "անկում"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "süqut"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "dağılma"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "proval",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "провал"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "krah",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "крах"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "倒臺"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "dǎotái",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "倒台"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "neergang"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "falego"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "kukistuminen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "tuho"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "chute"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Niedergang"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Untergang"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Verfall"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ptósi",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "πτώση"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "bukás"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "kudarc"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "caduta"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tonfo"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "rovinio"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "rovescio"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "suibō",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "衰亡"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "metsubō",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "滅亡"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "saigo",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "最期"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ruīna"
    },
    {
      "code": "ml",
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "roman": "patanaṁ",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "പതനം"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "hinganga"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "upadek"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ruína"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "queda"
    },
    {
      "code": "qu",
      "lang": "Quechua",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "word": "urma"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "padénije",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "паде́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "krušénije",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "круше́ние"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "obvál",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "обва́л"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "krax",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "крах"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ocaso"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "declive"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "decaimiento"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "decadencia"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "umkumenish",
      "sense": "precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "אומקומעניש"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "word": "tuho"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Ruin"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ítta",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ήττα"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "rovina"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "chimeishō",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "word": "致命傷"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error",
      "word": "whakahinganga"
    }
  ],
  "word": "downfall"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms prefixed with down-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "down-fallen"
    },
    {
      "word": "downfallen"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "down",
        "3": "fall"
      },
      "expansion": "down- + fall",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "downfalls",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfalling",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfell",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "downfallen",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "downfalls",
        "2": "downfalling",
        "3": "downfell",
        "4": "downfallen"
      },
      "expansion": "downfall (third-person singular simple present downfalls, present participle downfalling, simple past downfell, past participle downfallen)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1977, Mina P. Shaughnessy, Errors and expectations: a guide for the teacher of basic writing",
          "text": "[...] 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.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, Peter Vink, Ernst A. P. Koningsveld, Steven Dhondt, Human factors in organizational design and management-VI",
          "text": "Common belief has been that in the future the number of middle managers will downfall due to empowerment and team-building.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, Lithuanian physics journal",
          "text": "It should be noted that the magnitude of satellites decreases when tuning out of degeneracy, and in the wavelength range of 1.2-1.3 pm it downfalls to the value of 10-15% of the main spike magnitude."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra",
          "text": "[...] As goodly air as ever From lunar orb downfell— Be it by hazard, Or supervened it by arrogancy?",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fall down; deteriorate; decline."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fall",
          "fall"
        ],
        [
          "deteriorate",
          "deteriorate"
        ],
        [
          "decline",
          "decline"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To fall down; deteriorate; decline."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/daʊnˈfɔːl/",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-downfall (verb).wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d8/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-downfall_%28verb%29.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "word": "downfal"
    }
  ],
  "word": "downfall"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.