Used to point out a drawback or negative aspect of a plan, choice, or option.
“The downside is that it costs almost twice as much as the other option.”
“The downside is we'd have to reschedule everything else that day.”
This phrase usually follows a mentioned advantage, forming a common pros-and-cons pattern in the Problem Solving conversation. Pay close attention to the specific drawback named here, since test questions often ask which option was rejected because of exactly this kind of downside.
Synonyms: the drawback is, the disadvantage is, on the negative side