What does bearishness mean?
Bearishness is the state of being bearish: expecting that prices in a market — typically shares, bonds, or commodities — will fall. It is the noun form of 'bearish' and the direct opposite of bullishness, the optimistic conviction that prices will rise. In financial journalism and market commentary, bearishness describes not just private forecasts but a prevailing mood: analysts may speak of deepening, widespread, or persistent bearishness among investors, traders, or economists. The word derives from the stock-market 'bear', a term dating to early eighteenth-century London, possibly from the proverb about selling the bearskin before one has caught the bear. A second, older sense refers to a gruff, sullen, or bear-like temperament, though this usage is now largely literary. Because it names a collective sentiment as well as an individual stance, bearishness is a precise, useful term for anyone following markets, economics, or the psychology of investment.
The state or attitude of expecting financial markets or asset prices to decline.
"Persistent bearishness in the currency markets reflected doubts about the country's economic outlook."
This is by far the dominant modern sense, especially in financial reporting.
A gruff, surly, or rough-mannered disposition likened to that of a bear.
"Behind his habitual bearishness lay a genuine warmth toward his students."
Now chiefly literary; less common than the financial sense.
Bearishness is almost always used as an uncountable mass noun; a plural form exists grammatically but is rare and would appear only when referring to distinct instances or varieties of bearish outlooks.
"The report catalogued the various bearishnesses then circulating through different asset classes."
Wall Street's 'bear' isn't about the animal's claws — it comes from 18th-century 'bearskin jobbers' who sold bearskins before they'd caught the bear.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bearishness
Bearishness is formed from 'bearish' ('like a bear' or, in finance, 'expecting falling prices') plus the suffix '-ness'. The stock-market sense of 'bearish' derives from the trader known as a 'bear', attested in early eighteenth-century London — traditionally linked to the phrase 'to sell the bear's skin before one has caught the bear'. The literal sense of bearishness (a bear-like or gruff manner) is older, stemming simply from the animal's reputation for savagery and ill temper. Cognates within English include the related forms bear, bearish, and bearishly.
Related word forms
How bearishness is actually used
Bearishness is overwhelmingly used in financial and economic contexts, where it is neutral in register and standard in journalism and analyst commentary. The older, non-financial sense — a gruff or bear-like disposition — survives mainly in literary writing and is now relatively rare.
Easily confused with bearishness
'Barishness' is not an established English word; the correct spelling is always 'bearishness', from 'bear'.