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View synonyms for downbeat

downbeat

[ doun-beet ]

noun

, Music.
  1. the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.
  2. the first beat of a measure.


adjective

  1. gloomy or depressing; pessimistic:

    Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.

downbeat

/ ˈdaʊnˌbiːt /

noun

  1. music the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this Compare upbeat
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adjective

  1. informal.
    depressed; gloomy
  2. informal.
    relaxed; unemphatic
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of downbeat1

1875–80; down 1 + beat (noun)
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Example Sentences

In jazz, musicians are trained to swing eighth notes, or extend the duration of their downbeats — every other eighth note — and shorten the beats in between to create a galloping rhythm.

At a Delhi gathering after his arrest, downbeat editors spoke on the chilling effect the attacks on the media were having on newsrooms.

From Time

Some may see the decidedly not-tragic ending of The Man Who Sold His Skin as a copout, a betrayal of the story’s more downbeat undertones.

From Time

Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate, welcomed the news, especially after months of downbeat economic trends.

The response from Simple customers has been predictably downbeat.

Why did the Russian Ministry of Culture help to finance such a downbeat portrait of contemporary Russia?

Most affecting is his romance with a cute, downbeat girl inmate named Andrea.

Full of lively, comic storytelling and resonant in theme—youth ends; how sad—it casts a downbeat and very of-the-moment mood.

Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, the New Yorker, and more.

Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, the New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, the New Yorker, and more.

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