Downright vs. Upright — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Downright and Upright
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Definitions
Downright
Thoroughgoing; unequivocal
A downright lie.
Upright
Being in a vertical position or direction
An upright post.
Downright
Forthright; candid.
Upright
Erect in posture or carriage
"She sat with grim determination, upright as a darning needle stuck in a board" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
Downright
Thoroughly; absolutely.
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Upright
Adhering strictly to moral principles; righteous.
Downright
(obsolete) Directed vertically; coming straight down.
Upright
Designed with the pedals below the seat to allow an erect posture rather than a reclining one
An upright bike.
Downright
Directly to the point; plain
Upright
Vertically
Walk upright.
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Downright
Using plain direct language; accustomed to express opinions directly and bluntly; blunt.
Upright
A perpendicular position; verticality.
Downright
Complete; absolute
Upright
Something, such as a goalpost, that stands upright.
Downright
Really; actually; quite
He wasn’t just cool to me, he was downright rude.
Upright
An upright piano.
Downright
(obsolete) Straight down; perpendicularly.
Upright
An upright bicycle.
Downright
(obsolete) Plainly, unambiguously; directly.
Upright
To restore to an upright position
The tow truck uprighted the overturned tractor trailer.
Downright
(obsolete) Without delay; at once.
Upright
Vertical; erect
I was standing upright, waiting for my orders.
Downright
Straight down; perpendicularly.
Upright
In its proper orientation; not overturned.
My brother didn't get angry when his son knocked over the lamp; he simply called the boy over and helped him set it upright again.
Downright
In plain terms; without ceremony.
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
Upright
Greater in height than breadth.
Downright
Without delay; at once; completely.
She fell downright into a fit.
Upright
(figuratively) Of good morals; practicing ethical values.
Downright
Plain; direct; forthright; unceremonious; blunt; positive; as, he spoke in his downright way.
A man of plain, downright character.
Upright
(of a golf club) Having the head approximately at a right angle with the shaft.
Downright
Open; artless; undisguised; absolute; unmixed; as, downright atheism.
The downright impossibilities charged upon it.
Gloomy fancies which in her amounted to downright insanity.
Upright
In or into an upright position.
Downright
Characterized by plain blunt honesty;
A downright answer
A downright kind of person
Upright
Any vertical part of a structure.
Downright
Complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers;
Absolute freedom
An absolute dimwit
A downright lie
Out-and-out mayhem
An out-and-out lie
A rank outsider
Many right-down vices
Got the job through sheer persistence
Sheer stupidity
Upright
(sports) A goal post.
Downright
Thoroughgoing;
He is outright dishonest
Upright
(slang) A leg
Upright
A word clued by the successive initial, middle, or final letters of the cross-lights in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.
Upright
(informal) An upright piano.
Upright
(informal) An upright arcade game cabinet.
Upright
(transitive) To set upright or stand back up (something that has fallen).
Upright
In an erect position or posture; perpendicular; vertical, or nearly vertical; pointing upward; as, an upright tree.
With chattering teeth, and bristling hair upright.
All have their ears upright.
Upright
Morally erect; having rectitude; honest; just; as, a man upright in all his ways.
And that man [Job] was perfect and upright.
Upright
Conformable to moral rectitude.
Conscience rewards upright conduct with pleasure.
Upright
Stretched out face upward; flat on the back.
Upright
Designating a club in which the head is approximately at a right angle with the shaft.
Upright
Something standing upright, as a piece of timber in a building. See Illust. of Frame.
Upright
A tool made from a flat strip of steel with chisel edges at both ends, bent into horseshoe, the opening between the cutting edges being adjustable, used for reducing splits to skeins. Called in full upright shave.
Upright
The vertical part of a goalpost, especially the part above the horizontal bar; as, a field goal directly between the uprights.
Upright
A vertical structural member as a post or stake;
The ball sailed between the uprights
Upright
A piano with a vertical sounding board
Upright
In a vertical position; not sloping;
An upright post
Upright
Of moral excellence;
A genuinely good person
A just cause
An upright and respectable man
The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous
Upright
Erect in posture;
Behind him sat old man Arthur; he was straight with something angry in his attitude
Stood defiantly with unbowed back
Upright
Maintaining an erect position;
Standing timber
Many buildings were still standing
Upright
Upright in position or posture;
An erect stature
Erect flower stalks
For a dog, an erect tail indicates aggression
A column still vertical amid the ruins
He sat bolt upright
