as in slump
a situation in which something (such as business or economic activity) decreases or becomes worse
—usually singular
an economic downturn There's been a downturn in the housing market.
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Recent Examples of downturn
Stephenshaw attributed that to the LAO’s assumption that there could be a future stock market downturn, which the state does not incorporate into its financial forecasts.
—
Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Government analysts have warned that the state’s tax revenues, which are heavily reliant on wealthy residents’ stock gains, could take a hit in a financial downturn.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
Analysts say that the industry is under cyclical pressures, citing the downturn in construction as an example.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 9 Jan. 2026
The Los Angeles area has seen some recent successes, with data showing homeless people in the city are being more quickly placed into permanent supportive housing, but concerns remain about whether this progress is sustainable due to federal cuts and a potential economic downturn looming.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for downturn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downturn
Noun
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Namestnikov ended a 29-game goal drought, while Toews halted a 26-game scoring slump.—
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Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images BEIJING — Chinese policymakers may be finally warming to the idea of tackling the country’s worsening real estate slump, raising expectations that stronger support measures could be coming later this year.—
Noun
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China’s deflation trap China’s deflationary spiral will deepen and Beijing won’t do anything to stop it.—
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Third, deflation cuts both ways.—
Noun
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Johnson, who has been in office since May 2023, said homicides were down 30% last year and there was also a 34% decrease in drug overdoses.—
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The agency, which patrols unincorporated areas of the county, investigated 18 homicide deaths in 2025 after ending the previous year with 37 homicides — a 54% decrease.—
Noun
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By relying primarily on the rising edges of optical pulses, the system is robust against pulse-width variations caused by LED response characteristics, a phenomenon known as data-dependent pulse width shrinkage, as per the release.—
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Avoid high heat that causes shrinkage and dry the sweater flat to prevent stretching.—
Noun
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Despite his steep falloff in OT last year, Detective Capt.—
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Part of the explanation for the falloff in cinema revenue and admissions lies in the movies themselves.—
Noun
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However, the larger, longer-term downtrend (shown in red) remains a major obstacle that has yet to be tested.—
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January 2026 is estimated to reverse the downtrend of the previous months, although cargo declines will still reach 16.1 percent year over year to 1.87 million TEUs.—
Noun
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There may be some pressure as well on institutions to reduce tuition; and the major question is whether doing so might result in diminution of necessary instruction and training, particularly in person.—
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Of course, the early witnesses to Tongan culture were the agents of its disruption and diminution.—
Noun
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The company strips out nonessential systems and designs each component around mass reduction.—
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On Wednesday, city leaders said the strategy has driven the recent crime reduction.—
Cite this Entry
“Downturn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downturn. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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