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

adjective

1. informal.
   depressed; gloomy
2. informal.
   relaxed; unemphatic

Word History and Origins

Origin of downbeat¹

1875–80; down ¹ + beat (noun)

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.

From Science News

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.

From Washington Post

The response from Simple customers has been predictably downbeat.

From TechCrunch

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast