Cleave and Down

Cleave

Cleave verb - To hold to something firmly as if by adhesion.

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Down and cleave are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Down" instead a verb "Cleave".

Nearby Words: cleavage, cleaver, cleaving

Down verb - To strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall.

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Cleave and down are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Cleave" instead a verb "Down".

Nearby Word: downed

man	cleave man	down man
mountain	cleave mountain	down mountain
team	cleave team	down team
path	cleave path	down path
Other words: damage, opponent, enemy, bomber, enemies.

Interestingly, NIS America, during their license rescue, brought the hammer down as they are occasionally wont to do... and decided to cleave for the Chinese readings of the Li family names over everything else.

Source: Manga / Card Captor Sakura
From horseback, lances are able to one-shot almost anyone with a couched charge, and in an open field, one can cleave down dozens of enemy soldiers with a halberd or bardiche.

Source: Cool, but Inefficient
Melee classes on the other hand don't need to constantly stop and rest to recharge spells, can get feats like Great Cleave to cut enemies down like dominoes, and while some enemies have damage resistance a high-level fighter can outdamage that.

Source: Video Game / Neverwinter Nights

Cite this Source

Down and Cleave. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/cleave/down

Cleave & Down. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/cleave/down>.

Down or Cleave. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/cleave/down.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "cleave" and "down" have occurred on timeline