Bearish describes a view, a position (short), or a market regime. Bear markets have sharp rallies (dead-cat-bounces and bear-traps) that punish late shorts and premature dip buyers.
The image is a bear swiping its paw downward; the opposite is the bull.
Example: the Nasdaq fell 33% from November 2021 to December 2022, a bear market with five separate rallies of more than 10% along the way.
Related: bull, bear-trap, short-selling, dead-cat-bounce