fallen

1. participlepastpast participle of fall

comparative more fallen · superlative most fallen · superlative uncommon fallenest

1. not comparableusuallyHaving dropped by the force of gravity.

   fallen raindrops

2. not comparableusuallyKilled, especially in battle.

   the disposal of fallen livestock

   2 more examples

   a ceremony to honor fallen soldiers

   We will face the problems of peace with the same courage that we have faced and mastered the problems of war. In the memory of those that have made the supreme sacrifice, in the memory of our fallen president, we shall not fail.

   1945 April 16, Harry S. Truman, 10:41 from the start, in MP72-20 President Roosevelt’s Funeral and Procession; Truman – New President of U.S., Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162

3. not comparableusuallyHaving lost one's chastity.

   a fallen woman

   2 more examples

   Madam Julia was the town's ranking prostitute; virtuous female society demanded that they not suffer the unbearable pain of looking at, and being in company with, a fallen woman— one of the happiest, fallenest women in history, by the way.

   1964, Katharine Hillyer, Mark Twain, Young Reporter in Virginia City: The Racy, Rollicking Adventures of a Great Author in the Gamiest, Richest, Mightiest Town in All the Frontier West!

   "You make yourself out to be the fallenest of fallen women." Tilting her head toward Sharon, Debbie grinned. "Let's face it. There can't be winners without losers, and I'm a loser. But look at it this way. I make it possible for some other woman[…]

   1991, Kelly Walsh, Nightshades and Orchids, →ISBN

4. not comparableusuallyHaving collapsed.

   a fallen building

   Synonyms: collapsed

5. not comparableusuallyHaving lost prestige, (Christian) grace, etc.

   That fallenest of our fallen race has left town — said to be near Fontainebleau by some, in Italy by others. More consequent with himself than usual, he is fulfilling, in the only possible way left open to him, his promise […]

   1913, John Bigelow, Retrospections of an Active Life: 1867-1871, page 397

1. pluralplural onlyThe dead.
2. pluralplural onlyCasualties of battle or war.
3. countableChristianityOne who has fallen, as from grace.

   In the Augustinian period, however, sin was held to be a death-inflicting agent, implying that the fallen was dead, and had to be restored to life.

   1873, James Strong with John McClintock, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature, volume 5