1
as in to ridicule
to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter
nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote
every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to refute
to prove to be false
the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoot down
Jeffries, however, seemed to shoot down the idea of putting new limits on the ACA subsidies, to include caps on payments and restrictions on eligibility.
—
Mike Lillis, The Hill, 7 Oct. 2025
Pakistan, China’s closest military partner and currently the only foreign operator of the aircraft, claims its J-10Cs shot down Indian fighters during the archrivals' five-day conflict in May.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
After those incidents, the parliament voted to allow the armed forces to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace.
—Danny Bakst, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2025
But on Friday, the Supreme Court shot down that mandate, leaving hundreds of thousands even more fearful of what might happen next as immigration officers round up Venezuelans with TPS throughout the country.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Mike Lillis, The Hill, 7 Oct. 2025
Pakistan, China’s closest military partner and currently the only foreign operator of the aircraft, claims its J-10Cs shot down Indian fighters during the archrivals' five-day conflict in May.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
After those incidents, the parliament voted to allow the armed forces to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace.
—Danny Bakst, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2025
But on Friday, the Supreme Court shot down that mandate, leaving hundreds of thousands even more fearful of what might happen next as immigration officers round up Venezuelans with TPS throughout the country.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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Using simple yet incandescent prose, Paine renounced, repudiated and ridiculed at a clip seldom witnessed in print before or since.—
Matthew Redmond,
The Conversation,
9 Oct. 2025
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Now though, Hamlin has ridiculed Bianchi for his comments, emphasizing that Gordon wasn't dominating road courses like SVG.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And Tucker Carlson has gained attention with his own programming distributed via social and digital media, Their audiences can be smaller and more disparate than the ones that come to mainstream news outlets, but in an era of cord-cutting, their niche power is not to be dismissed.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
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In February, following a SAG Award win for her breakout role in Shōgun, Anna Sawai dismissed rumors that she had been cast as Yoko Ono for the film series.—
Sophie Williams,
Billboard,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When rumors flew in the colonies that Franklin had personally designed the Stamp Act, William refuted the charges.—
Stacy Schiff,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Strowman quickly refuted this claim on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The drama was followed by another housemate, George, being evicted after mocking gay housemate Sam.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The new video is part of a pattern in which DHS has increasingly deployed memes to mock migrants and popular culture.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan forces have captured 25 Pakistani army posts, 58 soldiers have been killed, and 30 others wounded.—
NPR,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
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In Israel's ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The governor has until next Monday, October 13, at midnight to sign or veto the remaining legislation on his desk.—
Kate Wolffe
October 9,
Sacbee.com,
9 Oct. 2025
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The Independent reports that her mother ultimately vetoed the job and the role went to Linda Blair.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What isn’t known — and what university and fraternity officials have refused to discuss — is what happened in the basement of the three-story house in the 1300 block of West Campus Road, before the young man lost consciousness.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
9 Oct. 2025
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Thomas, alas, can refuse any trade after taking the qualifying offer this summer and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In April, Moody’s revised the rating outlook for Thailand to negative from stable, flagging rising political uncertainty and sustained growth weakness.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
1 Sep. 2025
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On the way to scoring a 25-19, 25-9, 25-4 victory, UW was not blocked once, held the Bobcats to negative hitting in each set and in the final set tied a program record for fewest points allowed in a set.—
Mark Stewart,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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