down·beat

(doun′bēt′)

n. Music

1. The first beat of a measure.

2. The downward stroke made by a conductor to indicate the first beat of a measure.

adj.

Cheerless; pessimistic.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

downbeat

(ˈdaʊnˌbiːt)

(Music, other) music the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this. Compare upbeat

adj

1. (Psychology) informal depressed; gloomy

2. informal relaxed; unemphatic

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

down•beat

(ˈdaʊnˌbit)

n.

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.

adj.

3. Slang. gloomy; pessimistic.

[1876]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

downbeat - the first beat of a musical measure (as the conductor's arm moves downward)

musical rhythm, rhythm, beat - the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"

downbeat

Informal

adjective

1. low-key, muted, subdued, sober, sombre The headlines were suitably downbeat.

2. gloomy, negative, depressed, pessimistic, unfavourable They found him in gloomy, downbeat mood.
gloomy encouraging, positive, optimistic, cheerful, favourable, upbeat, buoyant, heartening

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

downbeat

[ˈdaʊnˌbiːt]

A. ADJ (= gloomy) → pesimista, deprimido; (= unemphatic) [tone, statement] → moderado

B. N (Mus) → compás m acentuado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

downbeat

[ˈdaʊnbiːt]

adj (= pessimistic) [person] → pessimiste, négatif/ive; [assessment] → pessimiste
to be downbeat about sth → être pessimiste à propos de qch

n (MUSIC) → temps m frappé

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

downbeat

[ˈdaʊnˌbiːt]

1. n (Mus) → tempo in battere

2. adj (fam) (gloomy) → pessimistico/a; (relaxed) → distaccato/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

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UNDER-PRESSURE households are becoming increasingly cautious about making major purchases as the squeeze on their spending power leaves them more downbeat about their finances, research has found.

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