Meaning

(archaic) Down, downward; to or in a lower place..

Definitions by Sense

1. (archaic) Down, downward; to or in a lower place.
2. (archaic) Down.

Example Sentences

Thrice did she sink adown.

[S]o / Do these upbear the little world below / Of Education,—Patience, Love, and Hope. / Methinks, I see them group'd in seemly show, / The straiten'd arms upraised, the palms aslope, / And robes that touching as adown they flow, / Distinctly blend, like snow emboss'd in snow.

Many a family circle wept as they looked upon the familiar places, which would know their lost ones no more; but ah, chide me not, kind reader, in thus leading you adown to the coldness of death, in setting before you that which causes your tender heart to shudder.

I fell from one dream into another; found myself wandering through impossible places; […] peering out into the darkness, to catch a sight of a vague figure standing somewhere in the shadow, and looking, with the sun streaming into my eyes and blinding me, adown long white roads filled with a multitude of people […]

Before yon field of trembling gold Is garnered into dusty sheaves, Or ere the autumn’s scarlet leaves Flutter as birds adown the wold, […]

The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. […] Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace.

Related Words

When Should You Use Adown?

Use adown when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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