downer n : a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person [syn: sedative, sedative drug, depressant]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes with: -aʊnə(r)

Noun

1. A negative drug trip.

   Normally those pills give me a boost, but last night they gave me a downer

2. A drug that has depressive qualities.

A Downer is a slang term, referring to a person who is

• down, or depressed, particularly if their mood brings other people down
• imputed to have Down syndrome, similar to calling someone "retarded"

Downer is the surname of several people:

• John Downer, a former Premier of South Australia and member of the inaugural Australian Senate
• Alexander Downer, Sr., John Downer's son and a former Australian Minister for Immigration
• Alexander Downer, John Downer's grandson and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1996 and 2007
• Alfred Wallace Downer, an unrelated Canadian politician
• Hunt Downer

Downer may also refer to:

• Downers, depressant drugs, which are any chemical agent that diminishes the function or activity of the central nervous system, and usually in a pleasurable way.
• Downer, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia, named for John Downer
• Downer (song) a song by the grunge band Nirvana on their debut album Bleach
• Downer, a Roadrunner Records band that broke up shortly after debut 2001 album
• Downer EDi, an Australian company
• Downer (soil), the New Jersey State Soil
• Someone who in Halo 2 commits suicide to make their team lose and their rank to go down. They are also known as delevelers
• Downer, a comic-strip by Kyle Stanley Hunter, running in the Polyhedron (later Dungeon) magazine, featuring a drow rogue as the eponymous character
• Downers Grove, Illinois
• Downer (hat), a type of short-brimmed hat with a sloping crown.
• A downer cow is a live cow that cannot walk

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