downward
part of speech
adjective (downward); adverb (downward, downwards — UK prefers downwards)
meaning for a pupil
1) Downward means moving or pointing towards a lower place. tree →
2) Downward means going down in amount, as in a downward trend. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Ecclesiastes asks whether the human spirit goes up and the beast's goes down; tradition teaches that the soul returns to God while the body returns to dust. In the primary lessons: In maths graphs a downward line shows decreasing numbers; in science gravity pulls things downward. Phrases: «a downward slope», «a downward trend», «face downward», «downward spiral».
examples
- And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Prophets 2KI.19.30, JPS 1917) tree →
- Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? (Writings ECC.3.21, JPS 1917) tree →
- Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of electrum. (Prophets EZK.8.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- The ball rolled downward. tree →
- The path slopes downward to the beach. tree →
- Gravity pulls objects downward. tree →
- The graph shows a downward trend in sales. tree →
- Lie face downward on the mat. tree →
- Prices are moving downward this month. tree →
- Still the young man moved slowly downward. tree →
note
As an adverb, UK usually says «downwards», US «downward»; before a noun always «downward»: «a downward slope». Opposite: upward(s). Maths: a downward line on a graph means decreasing.
In the corpora
- And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
- And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
- Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?
- A wedge, like an axe head or a door stop, is a ramp that turns one downward blow into strong sideways pushes.
- A rocket throws hot gas out downwards and the gas pushes the rocket up; it does not need air to push against.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «downward» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.