How to Use downward spiral in a Sentence

downward spiral

noun
  • Does Wyman think the Stones could have done more to stop Jones’ downward spiral?
    — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2023
  • And that’s exactly what happened, and that was the start of a downward spiral.
    — Jack Birle, Washington Examiner, 17 May 2023
  • Come for the downward spiral of hellish despair, stay for macabre goat Black Phillip and the ominous climax.
    — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Why Warriors do this The Warriors are on a downward spiral.
    — Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025
  • That led to life on the streets, the military, then shelter living and a downward spiral.
    — Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
  • And that was to stop the downward spiral in this relationship.
    — CBS News, 18 June 2023
  • The New York Rangers may have won their last two of three games, but their downward spiral over the last month and a half has cratered their playoff chances to 19 percent.
    — Shayna Goldman, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
  • The downward spiral kept swirling, and the internet kept watching.
    — Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 22 June 2023
  • On the scale of the whole body, meanwhile, overheating can trigger a downward spiral.
    — Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2023
  • This nugget of information was enough to put a floor in the stock that prevented a further downward spiral in the price.
    — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 16 July 2024
  • The Spurs’ downward spiral started before Fox even got there.
    — Zach Harper, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Then again, the whole movie is designed as a (deceptive) downward spiral.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 May 2024
  • In the realm of business, the pursuit of perfection can yield remarkable highs or lead to a downward spiral with charred wings.
    — Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Recently, my nephew has been in a downward spiral because of drugs.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 29 June 2023
  • According to sales figures from VW, the Arteon has been on steep downward spiral for the last two years.
    — Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 14 June 2023
  • But over the past decade, cable has been on a steady downward spiral as companies and consumers went all in on streaming TV.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2024
  • An unexamined life such as this can lead to a downward spiral.
    — Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
  • Such moves all led to further selling in small caps, fueling a downward spiral in the market.
    — Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 23 Feb. 2024
  • That means using a form of cognitive acceptance, which is a surer path to pulling out of a downward spiral.
    — Scott Mautz, Contributor, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2024
  • At least that’s a few hundred million less than Thursday’s downward spiral.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Although Linda pushes back, the therapist calls BS, and the mom continues on a downward spiral of shame and guilt.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Then there were those back-to-back losses at Oklahoma City in December that launched the Blazers on a downward spiral.
    — oregonlive, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Those buildings might not be able to get the financing needed to do upgrades, thus starting a downward spiral.
    — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2023
  • After that high, the toys became less popular and sales began a downward spiral.
    — Sabrina Talbert, Women's Health, 28 July 2023
  • At the time, the Post was in a commercial downward spiral, having been hit hard by the industry-wide disruption from the Internet.
    — Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Look at how much has happened since June 27, when Biden’s debate debacle kicked off his downward spiral.
    — Candy Woodall, Baltimore Sun, 27 July 2024
  • Tran’s relatives noticed his downward spiral, the sources said.
    — Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Since then, the lake has continued its downward spiral, with fish die-offs, high nutrient loads and invasive plant species such as Stinkwort.
    — Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2024
  • Struck by his forthrightness and honesty, and by his evident desire to escape the downward spiral of addiction, Herring sent him home with a prescription.
    — Moises Velasquez-Manoff Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Zak Mouton, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
  • Thus starts a downward spiral leaving you exhausted and everyone frustrated.
    — Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 4 Mar. 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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