downcast

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdaʊnkæst/ UK /ˈdaʊnkɑːst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
feeling dejected; directed downward

With downcast eyes, he admitted he had failed the exam.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · feeling dejected; directed... dejected despondent crestfallen disheartened glum downhearted forlorn

Opposites

cheerful elated upbeat buoyant

Word family

Related forms down cast downhearted

Etymology

A compound of down + cast ('thrown'); down is from Old English dune ('downward'), and cast is from Old Norse kasta ('to throw').

dune Old English kasta Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# downcast

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈdaʊnkæst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdaʊnkɑːst/

## Meanings
1. feeling dejected; directed downward

## Examples
- With downcast eyes, he admitted he had failed the exam.

## Synonyms
- dejected
- despondent
- crestfallen
- disheartened
- glum
- downhearted
- forlorn

## Antonyms
- cheerful
- elated
- upbeat
- buoyant

## Related Forms
- down
- cast
- downhearted

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dune
- Root: kasta

## Etymology
A compound of down + cast ('thrown'); down is from Old English dune ('downward'), and cast is from Old Norse kasta ('to throw').

## AI Etymology
Downcast is a compound of down + cast ('thrown'); down is from Old English dune ('downward'), and cast is from Old Norse kasta ('to throw'). The ancestry passes through Old English dune and Old Norse kasta. In present use as an adjective, it means "feeling dejected; directed downward", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. As a compound, its meaning is assembled from the two visible parts rather than from an opaque borrowing. Related words include down, cast, and downhearted. Its contrast set includes cheerful, elated, upbeat, and buoyant, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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