- past participle of fall.
fallen
Americanverb
adjective
-
having dropped or come down from a higher place, from an upright position, or from a higher level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.
-
on the ground; prostrate; down flat.
Exhausted, the racers lay fallen by the road.
-
degraded or immoral.
-
(of a woman) having lost her chastity.
-
overthrown, destroyed, or conquered.
a fallen city.
-
dead.
fallen troops.
verb
adjective
-
having sunk in reputation or honour
a fallen woman
-
killed in battle with glory
our fallen heroes
-
defeated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fallen
First recorded before 900, for the adjective
Explanation
Something that's fallen has dropped to the ground. You might collect fallen apples to make into cider or applesauce. The most literal sense of something fallen is just what it sounds like — an object that's moved from a high place to a lower place, usually due to gravity. There are also some figurative meanings: a fallen soldier has died on the battlefield, and a fallen person has committed a moral sin or ruined his reputation. In the 17th century, fallen frequently meant "morally ruined," more often describing a women than a man.
Vocabulary lists containing fallen
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The firm, which listed in Hong Kong in 2020, is worth nearly $24bn and remains one of the world's most valuable toymakers, despite its shares having fallen by more than 50% from last year's peak.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
So they changed his nom de guerre to Magura, a winged cloud maiden from Ukrainian mythology who hovers over battlefields to guide fallen warriors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index had already wobbled before this week and now is officially in a correction, having fallen around 12 percent over the past month.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
He’d recently visited L.A., had fallen just as in love with it as I had, and asked about my thoughts on the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
A few faded petals clung now to the new-leafed branches, but most of the Bride’s flowers had fallen, forming a wilted carpet beneath us.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
