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DOWNWARD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
Example:
the downward course of the stream
Synonyms:
down; downward
Classified under:
Similar:
descending (coming down or downward)
Sense 2
Meaning:
On or toward a surface regarded as a base
Example:
the downward pull of gravity
Classified under:
Similar:
down (being or moving lower in position or less in some value)
II. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
Example:
prices plunged downward
Synonyms:
down; downward; downwardly; downwards
Classified under:
Antonym:
upward (spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position)
Context examples:
A muscle extending from the hyoid bone to the side of the tongue that retracts and pulls the side of the tongue downward.
(Hyoglossus Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)
A type of tumor in which surface epithelial cells grow downward into the underlying supportive tissue.
(Inverted papilloma, NCI Dictionary)
Basin formed by the downward movement of the earth's crust at a geological fault.
(Fault depression, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
A sudden movement downward, usually resulting in injury.
(Fall, NCI Thesaurus)
Expansion of a malignant cellular infiltrate far downward into the soft tissues.
(Deep Tissue Invasion, NCI Thesaurus)
Lying down or reclining with the left side in a downward direction.
(Left Lateral Decubitus Position, NCI Thesaurus)
The largest and most superficial muscle on the lateral side of the anterior abdomen which compresses the abdomen and pulls the chest downward.
(External Oblique Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)
We found him, when we went to search for him, face downward in a little green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
His arms were long and slingy, his shoulders loose and yet powerful, with the downward slant which is a surer index of power than squareness can be.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Thornton came to, belly downward and being violently propelled back and forth across a drift log by Hans and Pete.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
