down in the mouth - Glite Dictionary

Examples

Now, what are we all so down in the mouth about?

Slaughtered (2010)
Looks a bit down in the mouth.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)
You look a little down in the mouth today; is everything alright?
Cory, why are you looking so down in the mouth? It can't be that bad.
After hearing the disappointing news, he seemed quite down in the mouth.

Synonyms

depressed

vsdown in the mouth

441 3.5

Feeling very sad and without hope

is milder, describing ordinary sadness or discouragement rather than severe despair

low

vsdown in the mouth

336 1.0

Feeling sad or without energy

focuses on unhappiness with a more expressive phrase

blue

vsdown in the mouth

205 2.1

Feeling sad or unhappy

is the more idiomatic expression for the same mood

grim

vsdown in the mouth

73 4.2

Sad and hopeless, making things seem very bad

is a softer, everyday phrase for feeling unhappy

gloomy

vsdown in the mouth

29 2.5

Feeling sad and without much hope

is a friendlier, idiomatic way to name that sadness

down

vsdown in the mouth

Informal

24 6.7

Feeling sad or unhappy

is the fuller idiom that stresses being unhappy

glum

vsdown in the mouth

23 4.1

Looking or feeling sad and quiet

is a more general phrase for feeling sad or unhappy

downbeat

vsdown in the mouth

8 4.4

Feeling sad and not very hopeful

is the idiomatic expression that names the same low feeling

discouraged

vsdown in the mouth

7 3.4

Feeling less confident and hopeful because of problems

describes the same low mood without focusing on causes

dejected

vsdown in the mouth

5 4.5

Feeling very sad and not hopeful

is a more conversational way to describe that sad feeling

down in the dumps

vsdown in the mouth

Informal

5 5.8

Feeling sad and low

is the neutral everyday way to say one feels unhappy

dispirited

vsdown in the mouth

5 5.4

Feeling sad and without hope

is the everyday phrase for feeling sad or discouraged

downcast

vsdown in the mouth

3 4.7

Feeling sad and without much hope

is the common expression for feeling sad or unhappy

downhearted

vsdown in the mouth

1 4.1

Feeling sad and without much hope

expresses the same unhappy state in everyday speech

low-spirited

vsdown in the mouth

1 5.1

Feeling sad and without much energy

is a casual phrase that names feeling sad or discouraged

Antonyms

happy

∞ 1.0

Feeling pleased and content

content

108 1.0

A feeling of being happy with what you have

How Sad

miserable

443 1.8

down in the mouth

Informal

1 7.8

sad

∞ 1.0

discouraged

7 3.4

Surface Forms

down in the mouth positive

Morphology

down + in + the + mouth

The meaning 'feeling sad' is signaled by 'down', which B1 learners will recognize as 'feeling low', but the prepositional phrase 'in the mouth' is non‑literal and idiomatic rather than compositional. Because part of the meaning is derivable from a known constituent yet the construction as a whole is conventional and somewhat regional, learners may only partially infer the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Down in the mouth comes from the simple picture of the mouth turning down at the corners when someone looks unhappy, so it means 'feeling sad'.