Bearish

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing pessimism about future prospects, especially regarding financial markets or economic conditions
2. Demonstrating a pessimistic viewpoint on future developments, especially in financial markets or economic conditions, indicating an expectation of reduced values or adverse trends
3. Expressing a negative sentiment towards anticipated outcomes, particularly in the context of financial markets or economic trends, signifying expectations of declining values or downturns

Etymology: The idea behind "bearish" is a bear's swipe: the animal attacks by striking downward with its paws, and that downward motion gave the market term its sense. Financial traders used "bear" for someone who sells or bets on falling prices, and the adjective describes a market or mood that expects prices to drop. Note that the animal's supposed downward swipe is a popular explanation rather than something the source confirms, so treat it as a plausible account of the metaphor rather than settled fact. The word itself is simple in construction. It is formed from "bear", the animal name, plus the suffix "-ish", meaning "having the quality of" or "somewhat like." "Bear" descends from Old English "bera", which traces back through Proto-Germanic to an ancient Indo-European root meaning "brown", a reference to the animal's coat. The suffix "-ish" comes from Old English "-isc", which goes back to a Proto-Germanic form shared with many other English adjectives such as "English" and "Scottish", where the suffix means "belonging to" or "like."

Synonyms: pessimistic, negative, downbeat

Antonyms: bullish, optimistic, positive