Basic Details
Word: Downward
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Moving or pointing towards a lower place or level; as an adverb it is also written downwards.
Synonyms: descending, downhill, falling
Antonyms: upward, rising, ascending
How to Spell Downward
Syllables: down - ward
Tricky part: It is one word with no hyphen, and the ending is ward, not word or werd.
Watch out for: downword, donward, downwerd, dounward
Memory tip: Down + ward. The ending ward means 'in the direction of', the same ending you find in toward, homeward and forward.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The path took a steep downward turn towards the river.
Example 2: The lift made a downward lurch that made everyone grab the rail.
Example 3: Keep your palms facing downward when you do this yoga stretch.
Fun Fact
Planes do not drop straight down to land. Pilots follow a gentle downward path, usually about 3 degrees, called the glide slope.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) newspapper
b) downward
c) waterprof
d) headake
Show answer
b) downward. Waterproof keeps both o's of proof, newspaper has one p in paper and headache ends in ache, so only downward is spelt right.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to downward as used in the sentence:
The kite went into a sudden downward spin and landed on the neighbour's roof.
a) falling
b) sinking
c) descending
d) upward
Show answer
d) upward. Downward points to a lower place, so upward is its opposite; falling, sinking and descending all mean going down.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
When the hikers reached the top of the ridge, they rested for an hour before starting the long downword climb back to the village near the lake.
a) downword
b) village
c) hikers
d) ridge
Show answer
a) downword. Word is a different thing altogether; the direction ending is ward.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A downward trend in sales means sales are ____.
a) falling
b) rising
c) doubling
d) steady
Show answer
a) falling
2. In 'He glanced downward at his shoes', downward tells us ____.
a) the direction he looked
b) how fast he looked
c) why he looked
d) when he looked
Show answer
a) the direction he looked
