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Glite Dictionary
bowed down

bowed down

1 6.5
Very tired and weighed down by too much work or worry
  • idiom
translation icon : agobiado
  • We will enhance life for those around us; our homes will be appealing and attractive to those who are bowed down with the blandness of their sinful lives.

Examples

  • But today seeing your head bowed down.. ..it seems like..

    Delhi Safari (2012)

  • [woman] Our Father, who an in Heaven... we come to you right now gathered with bowed down heads, oh, Father God.

    Bully (2011)

  • As if they were bowed down by the burden of memories that are no longer shared.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The Lord looked around him at all his handiwork bowed down before him, and he said, "It is not good!

    Inherit the Wind (1960)

  • And two or three eunuchs bowed down to him.

    Blog text (2)

  • You've sat down and laid down and bowed down for 400 years.

    Malcolm X (1992)

  • She would walk down the street with her hand like this, sort of bowed down, because she felt so, so unworthy.

  • The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

    Blog text (18)

  • The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

    Blog text (20)

  • After weeks of working overtime, she felt completely bowed down by her responsibilities.

Synonyms

weighed down
vsbowed down
  • Informal
6 4.5

Carrying heavy things or having serious worries that make you feel tired

refers specifically to heavy emotional or work related load rather than physical weight
loaded down
vsbowed down
1 4.6

Having too much work or responsibility to manage

focuses on the condition of being heavily weighed by cares rather than just enduring them
heavy-laden
vsbowed down
1 6.5

Weighed down by worry or responsibility

includes heavy burden from work and responsibilities rather than only cares
overburdened
vsbowed down
1 5.3

Having more work, duties, or worry than you can handle

describes heavy load without implying it is more than someone can manage
burdened
vsbowed down
3.8

Feeling very weighed down by work, problems, or responsibilities

is the general heavy state caused by difficulties rather than the personal feeling
drooping
vsbowed down
3.5

Hanging down because it is weak or not held up

describes being weighed down by duties or cares rather than physical bending

Antonyms

lighthearted
17 3.7

Feeling cheerful and not worried about serious things

unburdened
1 5.5

Not having worries or responsibilities

How Burdened

crushed
4.2
overstressed
2 5.1
bowed down
1 6.5
busy
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

bowed down positive

Morphology

bowed + down

The sense 'weighed down by difficulties' is a metaphorical extension of the literal components: 'bowed' (bent/submissive) + 'down' (lowered), so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer the idea of being physically or emotionally bent under weight. However, the meaning relies on figurative mapping from posture to burden and 'bowed' can also suggest submissiveness, so the interpretation is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Bowed down comes from the image of a person bending over because something heavy is on them, their body bowed down under the weight. So the phrase now means 'heavily burdened' or 'weighed down by worries'.