downfall

/ˌdaʊnˈfɔl/

/ˈdaʊnfɔl/

Other forms: downfalls

A downfall is a sudden drop in status or strength. You might be winning at Monopoly until your opponents decide to team up against you, which leads to your downfall.

Poor political decisions can result in the downfall of a government or party, and an economic depression can lead to the downfall of businesses and banks. A more literal, but less common, kind of downfall is when rain or snow falls down to the ground: "The downfall of snow will make the roads slippery tonight." The "decline in strength" meaning has been in use since the 14th century.

Definitions of downfall

1. noun

   a sudden decline in strength or number or importance
   synonyms: fall

   types:

   anticlimax

   a disappointing decline after a previous rise

   type of:

   weakening

   becoming weaker
2. noun

   failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
   synonyms: ruin, ruination

   types:

   finish

   the downfall of someone (as of persons on one side of a conflict)

   type of:

   failure

   an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose
3. noun

   the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)
   synonyms: precipitation

   types:

   fine spray

   precipitation in very small drops

   hail

   precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents

   rain, rainfall

   water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere

   sleet

   partially melted snow (or a mixture of rain and snow)

   snow, snowfall

   precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals

   virga

   light wispy precipitation that evaporates before it reaches the ground (especially when the lower air is low in humidity)

   rainstorm

   a storm with rain

   cloudburst, deluge, downpour, pelter, soaker, torrent, waterspout

   a heavy rain

   drizzle, mizzle

   very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower

   rain shower, shower

   a brief period of precipitation

   flurry, snow flurry

   a light brief snowfall and gust of wind (or something resembling that)

   whiteout

   an arctic atmospheric condition with clouds over snow produce a uniform whiteness and objects are difficult to see; occurs when the light reflected off the snow equals the light coming through the clouds

   monsoon

   heavy rains accompanied by wind, typical of the rainy season in southern Asia

   type of:

   atmospheric condition, conditions, weather, weather condition

   the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation