lowering
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the act of making something lower or less.
n.the act or process of bringing something down in height, level, or status.
Simple“The lowering of the flag happens every day at sunset.”
In context“The gradual lowering of the water level revealed several ancient structures that had been submerged for decades.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.a change in how a person says a vowel sound, making it sound lower in the mouth.
n.a phonological process in which a vowel is produced with a lower tongue position than its previous or original state.
Simple“The teacher explained how the vowel sound changed through lowering over many years.”
In context“Historical linguists often cite the lowering of certain high vowels as a key feature in the evolution of this specific dialect group.”
Antonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
adj.looking dark and stormy, or having a mean and angry look on your face.
adj.appearing dark, overcast, and threatening, as of the sky or weather; can also describe a sullen or frowning facial expression.
Simple“The lowering clouds made us think a big storm was coming.”
In context“Under a lowering sky, the hikers hurried toward the shelter, wary of the approaching thunder and the lack of natural cover.”
UsageOften spelled 'louring' in older British texts.
Synonyms
Usage lowering emissions
“These include growth of breasts and coarse body hair, widening of hips and shoulders, and lowering of voice pitch.”
“Pairing strength training with regular aerobic exercise was even more impressive, lowering overall death risk by about 45%.”
c. 1600, "descend, sink, grow less or lower" (intransitive), from lower (adj.), comparative of low (adj.). Transitive meaning "let down, cause to descend" attested from 1650s. Related: Lowered; lowering. In the transitive sense "to cause to descend" the older verb was low. From Middle English lahghenn, (c. 1200), which continued in use into the 18c.
From Middle English louryng, louringe, lowrynge, later variant of lourand, lowrand, lourande, lowrande, equivalent to lour + -ing. Cognate with Dutch loerend (“lurking, louring”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.