| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | threatening |
| Synonyms: | gloomy, heavy, menacing, ominous, overcast, overhanging |
| Main Entry: | lower |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | reduce, minimize |
| Synonyms: | abate, clip, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, de-escalate, decrease, decry, deflate, demote, depreciate, devaluate, devalue, diminish, downgrade, downsize, lessen, mark down, moderate, pare, prune, roll back, scale down, shave, slash, soften, tone down, undervalue, write off |
| Antonyms: | elevate, heighten, increase, rise |
| Main Entry: | lower |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | belittle, disgrace |
| Synonyms: | abase, bemean, cast down, condescend, debase, degrade, deign, demean, depress, devalue, downgrade, humble, humiliate, stoop |
| Antonyms: | compliment, laud, praise |
| Main Entry: | cloudy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hazy; darkened |
| Synonyms: | blurred, confused, dark, dense, dim, dismal, dull, dusky, emulsified, foggy, gloomy, heavy, indefinite, indistinct, leaden, lowering, misty, mucky, muddy, murky, mushy, nebulous, nontranslucent, nontransparent, not clear, nubilous, obscure, opaque, overcast, somber, sullen, sunless, vaporous |
| Notes: | to the National Weather Service, partly cloudy (what we think of as partly sunny) is 3/8-5/8 cloud cover, mostly cloudy is 6/8-7/8 cloud cover, and cloudy is 8/8 |
| Antonyms: | clear, cloudless |
| Main Entry: | critical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fault-finding, detracting |
| Synonyms: | analytical, belittling, biting, calumniatory, captious, carping, caviling, cavillous, censorious, censuring, choleric, condemning, critic, cutting, cynical, demanding, demeaning, derogatory, diagnostic, disapproving, discerning, discriminating, disparaging, exacting, exceptive, finicky, fussy, hairsplitting, humbling, hypercritical, lowering, nagging, niggling, nit-picking, overcritical, particular, penetrating, reproachful, sarcastic, satirical, scolding, severe, sharp, trenchant, withering |
| Antonyms: | complimentary, laudatory, praising |
| Main Entry: | cut |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reduction, diminution |
| Synonyms: | cutback, decrease, decrement, downsize, economy, fall, lessening, lowering, reduction, saving |
| Antonyms: | increase |
| Main Entry: | cutback |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | decrease |
| Synonyms: | abatement, belt-tightening, curtailment, decline, decrement, economy, lessening, lowering, reduction, reversal |
| Antonyms: | increase, raise |
| Main Entry: | decline |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | downward change in value, position |
| Synonyms: | declivity, decrease, depression, descent, dip, downslide, downswing, downtrend, downturn, drop, drop-off, fall-off, hill, incline, lapse, loss, lowering, pitch, sag, slide, slip, slope, slump |
| Notes: | one declines (or accepts) something that is offered; one refuses (or agrees) to accept something offered |
| Antonyms: | ascent, increase, rise |
| Main Entry: | degrading |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | debasing |
| Synonyms: | cheapening, demeaning, derogatory, disgraceful, downgrading, humiliating, lowering |