How to Use downward spiral in a Sentence

downward spiral

noun
  • This is a decades-long downward spiral.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025
  • That’s led to a downward spiral.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Bad news on any of these fronts could cause a new downward spiral for the shares.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2025
  • My husband has been on a downward spiral for the last five years.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
  • But both brands were already in a downward spiral.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
  • Even a near no-hitter wasn’t enough to lift the Dodgers out of their downward spiral.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
  • That was the beginning of the whole downward spiral.
    — Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026
  • An unexamined life such as this can lead to a downward spiral.
    — Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
  • Pulling American schools out of this downward spiral will not be easy.
    — Mary Ellen Klas, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
  • And that’s exactly what happened, and that was the start of a downward spiral.
    — Jack Birle, Washington Examiner, 17 May 2023
  • Homa, meanwhile, has been on a downward spiral since the second half of last season.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Recently, my nephew has been in a downward spiral because of drugs.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 29 June 2023
  • And that was to stop the downward spiral in this relationship.
    — CBS News, 18 June 2023
  • However, since then, things have gone on a downward spiral for Phoenix.
    — Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Does Wyman think the Stones could have done more to stop Jones’ downward spiral?
    — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Then again, the whole movie is designed as a (deceptive) downward spiral.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 May 2024
  • Dean quickly ends up going on a downward spiral and turns to drugs and alcohol as a way to grieve.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
  • The downward spiral kept swirling, and the internet kept watching.
    — Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 22 June 2023
  • That led to life on the streets, the military, then shelter living and a downward spiral.
    — Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
  • On the scale of the whole body, meanwhile, overheating can trigger a downward spiral.
    — Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2023
  • The secondary aim is to stop what’s undeniably been a downward spiral.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2025
  • At least that’s a few hundred million less than Thursday’s downward spiral.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Tran’s relatives noticed his downward spiral, the sources said.
    — Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
  • The Spurs’ downward spiral started before Fox even got there.
    — Zach Harper, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Such moves all led to further selling in small caps, fueling a downward spiral in the market.
    — Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Names across the technology sector have been on a downward spiral.
    — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
  • And while the damage was minimal, in the past, this may have resulted in a downward spiral.
    — Jordan Bianchi, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
  • All of this to say the Cardinals' season could be headed in a downward spiral.
    — Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
  • One of those incidents sparked a downward spiral in both their personal lives and their careers on screen.
    — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Waller blamed Theory for their downward spiral.
    — Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'downward spiral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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