(pronounced NAY-dir or NAY-dehr)

With origins in Arabic meaning “opposite” and a life as an astronomic term meaning the direction below a specific location, in general usage nadir connotes the lowest point of anything or an extreme state of adversity. To help it gel in your mind, know that the medical community uses the term to discuss low white blood cell and platelet counts during courses of chemotherapy treatments.

Example: After being laid off from yet a third A&D firm within a span of 17 months, Jeremy felt as if he had reached the nadir of his interior design career.