View synonyms for downbeat

downbeat

[ doun-beet ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Music.

the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure.
the first beat of a measure.

gloomy or depressing; pessimistic:
Hollywood movies seldom have downbeat endings.

downbeat

/ ˈdaʊnˌbiːt /

music the first beat of a bar or the downward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this Compare upbeat

1875–80; down ¹ + beat (noun)

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

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

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

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

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

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