bearish

B3E1A1R1I1S1H4

adjective

Resembling or likened to a bear, typically in being rough, surly, or clumsy.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

adjectivebearish (comparative more bearish, superlative most bearish)

comparative more bearish · superlative most bearish

  1. Resembling or likened to a bear, typically in being rough, surly, or clumsy.
  2. businessCharacterized by or expecting falling prices.

    At the start of the year, Bridgewater turned bearish on U.S. bonds and built up a short position.

    2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN
  3. broadlyPessimistic about the future.

    The Germans were downcast because of Eastern Europe and Helmut Schmidt's decline, the Arabs were depressed because of oil and Iraq, the French were bearish because of their government; only the British seemed a little upbeat, but that was before the Falkland Islands incident.

    2014, Barton Biggs, Biggs on Finance, Economics, and the Stock Market: Barton's Market Chronicles from the Morgan Stanley Years, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

antonym(s) of “stock market”

Opposite

adjectiveexpecting prices to fall

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰwer-
  4. Proto-Germanic*berô
  5. Proto-West Germanic*berō
  6. Old Englishbera
  7. Middle Englishbere
  8. Englishbear
  9. Englishbearish

From bear + -ish.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish laskeva, laskujohteinen
  • laskevacharacterized by the falling price of a financial instrument
  • laskujohteinencharacterized by the falling price of a financial instrument
French baissier
  • baissiercharacterized by the falling price of a financial instrument
Irish béarúil
  • béarúilhaving the qualities of a bear
Japanese 弱気
  • 弱気 (yowaki)characterized by the falling price of a financial instrument
Russian медве́жий
  • медве́жий (medvéžij)having the qualities of a bear
Spanish ursino, osuno
  • ursinohaving the qualities of a bear
  • osunohaving the qualities of a bear
  • bajistacharacterized by the falling price of a financial instrument
  • pesimistacharacterized by the falling price of a financial instrument

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

bearish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bearish

MLA

“bearish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bearish. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bearish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bearish.

Source: bearish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.