DOWNER Definition & Meaning

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downer

[ dou-ner ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Informal.
1. a depressant or sedative drug, especially a barbiturate.
2. a depressing experience, person, or situation.
Animal Husbandry. an old or diseased animal, especially one that cannot stand up.

downer

/ ˈ�岹ʊ��ə /

noun

Also calleddown a barbiturate, tranquillizer, or narcotic Compare upper
a depressing experience
a state of depression
he's on a downer today

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of downer¹

1910–15, Americanism, for an earlier sense; 1965–70, downer fordef 1; down ¹ + -er ¹

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Like virtually all of the climate scientists I spoke with, he’s not trying to be a downer.

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How much of a downer would it be if he’s reduced to being a spectator when the Dodgers win the World Series?

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The one visual downer is the stage, which is no longer wood.

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Both stories end with a downer — Poppea and Nero get everything they want, and it turns out that even a catastrophic cosmic event that destroys most of Earth can't quite destroy racial segregation.

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At the same time, the Trump rallies seem stale and he looks, more and more, like a delusional dilettante with the demeanor of a dawdling dweeb on downers.

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