Meaning & use

nadir

noun·Advanced

The lowest or most unsuccessful point of a situation, period, or someone's fortunes.

See it in a sentence

Losing the championship game in the final second was the nadir of his coaching career.

The company's stock price hit its nadir during the recession before slowly recovering.

A note on using this word

Nadir is a formal, often dramatic word reserved for a clear lowest point, and it always pairs naturally with 'zenith' as its opposite.

Words with a similar meaning

low pointrock bottom

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

peakzenith

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “nadir”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.