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Glite Dictionary
to shoulders sag

to shoulders sag

1 5.6
To let the shoulders drop because you feel tired or sad
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈʃoʊldərz sæɡ/
: caer los hombros
  • My shoulders sagging, I walked on heavy feet back to the car.
  • shoulders sagged and she sighed
  • shoulders sag with relief
  • shoulders sagged a little

Examples

  • "His mother stopped, flustered, her shoulders sagging.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Her shoulders sagged, her head dropped a little, and her voice became quiet.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Her shoulders sagged, and suddenly tears burned in her own eyes.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Her shoulders sag, and her head drops into her hands.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Then his shoulders sagged, his head drooped.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Her shoulders sagged, and she held back the prickle of tears."

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Her broad shoulders sagged, and her face paled.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I let my shoulders sag and folded my hands in my lap.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Her shoulders sagged, and her head drooped as she began to sob.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Feeling overwhelmed by her responsibilities, she let her shoulders sag in defeat.

Synonyms

to slump
vsto shoulders sag
55 4.0

To sit down or fall forward suddenly and heavily

is a slower droop that signals disappointment or tiredness rather than a sudden fall
to slouch
vsto shoulders sag
22 4.6

To sit, stand, or walk with the shoulders and head bent forward in a lazy way

is a droop that signals sadness or tiredness rather than a lazy posture
to sag
vsto shoulders sag
19 2.8

To bend downward because of weight or weak support

is a droop caused by feelings of disappointment or tiredness rather than physical weight
to sag down
vsto shoulders sag
3.7

To hang lower because of weight or loss of support

is a droop caused by emotion like sadness or fatigue, not structural weakness

Antonyms

to stand
∞ 1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

Surface Forms

shoulders sag infinitive
shoulders sagged past
shoulders sagged past participle
shoulders sagging present participle
shoulders sags third person singular

Morphology

shoulder + sag

The meaning 'to droop or slump as a sign of disappointment, fatigue, or dejection' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'shoulder(s)' (upper-body area) with 'sag' (to droop), so a learner who knows both words can infer the physical action. The conventional interpretation that drooping shoulders signal negative emotion is common across languages, making the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The phrase shoulders sag comes from the image of a person's shoulders falling forward and down when they are tired or sad. That visible sag shows someone is 'disappointed' or 'exhausted', so the phrase now means to show those feelings.