low spirits
1
3.5
- noun
:
bajo ánimo
- I could never understand the reason for his low spirits.
Examples
-
She remained in low spirits for some weeks, contemplating the dismal present.
Fiction book (1994) -
The man explained that this was impossible, and his reply left the prisoner in low spirits for several days.
Fiction book (2002) -
The fact is that Shnchen has come back from Spain in very low spirits.
Academic text (2010) -
This summer, in particular, had been especially disappointing, and with hindsight, Isobel realized that the weeks of dark clouds and sunlessness had done much to contribute to her low spirits and physical exhaustion.
Fiction book (1990) -
In the latter half of the 1970s, low spirits surfaced in staff meetings characterized by one office memo as "abominable, interminable, intolerable, and ineffective."
Academic text (2011) -
After hearing the bad news, he was in low spirits for the rest of the day.
-
She tried to cheer him up, but he couldn't shake off his low spirits.
-
Despite their efforts to lift her mood, she remained in low spirits all week.
Synonyms
229
1.0
A feeling of being unhappy
46
3.2
A feeling of sadness and low spirits
4
8.3
A strong feeling of sadness and loss of hope after something bad
4
4.4
A feeling of mild sadness that has no clear cause
1
8.9
A feeling of sadness and low mood
1
3.4
A feeling of sadness and little hope felt by people or in a place
1
8.4
A gloomy, unfriendly mood that makes a person quiet and hard to approach
1
8.8
A feeling of deep sadness and no hope
A quiet feeling of sadness and low spirits
A feeling of sadness and little interest in things
A feeling of being sad or low
A feeling of being sad and having little hope
A feeling of sadness and low energy
A time when someone feels sad and without energy
A feeling of sadness and no hope
A feeling of being discouraged and without much hope
A lack of energy and interest that makes a person feel tired and low
Antonyms
How Positive
18
5.5
970
1.0
26
2.1
27
3.7
1
3.5
229
1.0
210
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'low spirits' is directly and compositionally derived from 'low' (downcast) modifying 'spirits' (mood or energy), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer it means a down or unhappy mood. This construction is a transparent adjective+noun composition and has close equivalents in many languages, making it readily comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Low spirits uses spirits in the old sense of a person's mood and low to show that the mood has fallen. The image is of someone's cheer or energy sitting near the ground, so it now means 'feeling sad'.