Dictionary
nadir
noun na·dir \ˈnā-ˌdir, ˈnā-dər\
: the worst or lowest point of something
Full Definition of NADIR
1
: the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer
2
: the lowest point
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Examples of NADIR
- Nantucket reached its nadir in the post-Civil War period. The whaling industry had become moribund, many New Englanders had been lured to California by the discovery of gold, and the island population dropped from ten thousand in 1830 to scarcely more than three thousand in 1880. —David H. Wood, Antiques, August 1995
- But then, at the very nadir of that dark abandoned moment, that moment of despair and sickness unto death, {} —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
- My nadir was the time I presented an oral book report on “Les Misérables,” having read only the Classic Comics version … —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 12 Oct. 1986
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Illustration of NADIR
Origin of NADIR
Middle English, from Middle French, from Arabic naḍhīr opposite
First Known Use: 15th century
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