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doldrums

doldrums

7.6
A period when activity is low and progress stops
  • noun
  • /ˈdoʊldrəmz/
  • Informal
translation icon : estancamiento
  • The team felt trapped in the doldrums after failing to meet their project deadlines for three consecutive months.

It got me through that year because I was in the doldrums.

Examples

  • As as the doldrums and when women's history then reached what economists call a take off point.

  • After several months of low sales, the company found itself in the doldrums and needed a new marketing strategy.

  • Many artists experience the doldrums in their creativity, finding it hard to produce new work.

Synonyms

downturn
vsdoldrums
69 4.4

A period when the economy or business gets worse

is broader and can apply to art or general lack of activity not only economies
slump
vsdoldrums
65 4.6

A period when business or the economy falls a lot

focuses on inactivity and lack of movement rather than active decline
lull
vsdoldrums
28 4.6

A short quiet time when activity pauses

is about a longer period of low activity rather than a short pause
stagnation
vsdoldrums
19 6.8

A period when activity and growth stop, often in business or the economy

is the more informal expressive term used for business or artistic low activity
downswing
vsdoldrums
1 6.1

A time when people buy and sell less and the economy slows

is broader covering inactivity beyond just economic downward movement
stagnancy
vsdoldrums
1 7.3

A situation with no movement, change or progress

is often used interchangeably but sounds less common or formal
dead season
vsdoldrums
1 5.6

A time of year when few people buy things or use services

is more general meaning any period of low activity not limited to seasonal low demand

Antonyms

2.5

Forward change toward a goal or better state

362 1.1

A state of being busy and moving

How Active

boom
214 2.8
recovery
264 3.0
doldrums
  • Informal
7.6
stagnation
1 6.5

Surface Forms

doldrum singular
doldrums plural

Etymology

Doldrums grew from the same old dold 'dull' idea, like the English word dull, and it now means a period when things are slow or inactive, so we say a person or business is in the doldrums when they are in a slump.