down·fall /ˈdaʊnˌfɔl/
  下降;垮臺,陷落
  Down·fall n.
  1. A sudden fall; a body of things falling.
     Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid.   --Holland.
     Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour.   --Dryden.
  2. A sudden descent from rank or state, reputation or happiness; destruction; ruin; as, the senator's unrestrained sexual escapades led to his downfall.
     Dire were the consequences which would follow the downfall of so important a place.   --Motley.
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  downfall
       n 1: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
            [syn: ruin, ruination]
       2: the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or
          hail or sleet or mist) [syn: precipitation]
       3: a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the
          fall of the House of Hapsburg" [syn: fall] [ant: rise]