When you're downcast, you feel sad, discouraged, or disappointed. Picture someone walking with their head hanging down, eyes looking at the ground instead of straight ahead. A student might feel downcast after losing a spelling bee they had practiced hard for, or a soccer player might look downcast after their team loses an important game.

The word captures both a feeling and the way that feeling shows on your face and in your posture. When you're downcast, it's hard to smile or make eye contact. Your whole body seems to droop a little.

You can also use downcast to describe someone's eyes or gaze specifically. If a character in a story sits with “downcast eyes,” they're looking down, perhaps from sadness, shame, or shyness. A teacher might notice a usually cheerful student sitting with downcast eyes and realize something's wrong.

Feeling downcast is natural when things don't go your way, but the feeling usually doesn't last forever. Most people eventually lift their heads back up and try again.