downward spiral

noun

: a situation in which something continuously decreases or gets worse
Her life was in a downward spiral as she battled depression and addiction.

Examples of downward spiral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
After Joseph discovers that Maria has been faking her orgasms, the couple’s relationship takes a downward spiral. Travis Bean, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024 This triggered a downward spiral as developers were unable to complete housing and began defaulting on their debt. Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2024 While the subscriber counts of pay-TV distributors are projected to continue their downward spiral, the combination of DirecTV and Dish should provide, for now, more clout when negotiating carriage fee renewals with linear TV networks and SVOD providers. Brad Adgate, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 Although Lori had been studying near-death experiences and reading doomsday books since 2012, her downward spiral began in earnest a few weeks after Lori first met Melanie Gibb in 2018. Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for downward spiral 

Dictionary Entries Near downward spiral

Cite this Entry

“Downward spiral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downward%20spiral. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!