- 1
A sudden loss of power, success, money, or good reputation — a big, often dramatic fall from a high position. We use it for people (a president's downfall), companies, or even old empires. It's also used for the exact thing that CAUSES that fall — 'His pride was his downfall' means his pride is the reason he failed.
垮台、敗因
組成down + fall — a straightforward compound.
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
downfallnoun/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
- 1
A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
- Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
- The Black Cats contributed to their own downfall for the only goal when Titus Bramble, making his first appearance since Boxing Day, and Michael Turner, let Phil Jones' cross bounce across the six-yard box as [Wayne] Rooney tucked in at the back post.
- 2
The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
- Orson Scott Card It is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead.
- 3
An act of falling down.
- a downfall of rain
- [T]he prominent character of leading young lady or heroine, which Paula was to personate, was really the most satisfactory in the whole list for her. For although she was to be wooed hard, there was just as much love-making among the remaining personages; while, as Somerset had understood the play, there could occur no flingings of her person upon her lover's neck, or agonized downfalls upon the stage, in her whole performance, [...]
downfallverb/ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
- 1
To fall down; deteriorate; decline.
- [...] wants to make civilization his subject, he will have a hard time proceeding with the sentence unless collapse is in his active vocabulary, for he cannot say "our civilization will downfall" or "fall down."
- Common belief has been that in the future the number of middle managers will downfall due to empowerment and team-building.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。