nedadgående

Nedadgående is a compound adjective used in Danish and Norwegian to describe something that moves downward or decreases in value, amount, or intensity. It can refer to a physical direction, such as a nedadgående gradient, or to abstract developments, such as a nedadgående trend, kurve, or utvikling.

In economics, statistics, and journalism, nedadgående is common for characterizing declines: a nedadgående trend in sales, a nedadgående kurve for GDP, or a nedadgående utvikling in unemployment. The term is also used more generally to indicate any downward movement or forecast. The opposite form is opadgående (upward).

Etymology and grammar: the word combines ned (down) with gående (going, from gå “to go”), forming an attributive adjective that precedes the noun. In both Norwegian Bokmål and Danish, nedadgående appears before the noun and inflects as part of standard adjective usage, with regular agreement for definite or plural forms. Synonyms or near-synonyms include synkende and fallende, though these can carry slightly different nuances.

See also: opadgående, synkende, fallende.