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
Russian air defense forces overnight shot down 20 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defense Ministry reported Tuesday.
—
Arkansas Online, 25 June 2025
The Qatari military shot down most if not all the missiles, according to a second U.S. official who also was not authorized to speak publicly.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 23 June 2025
And on the three recent occasions that Iran has retaliated to attacks from Israel, the U.S. has helped Israel shoot down incoming missiles and coordinate air defenses.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 19 June 2025
The system, which entered U.S. service in the 1980s, has even been able to shoot down Russian hypersonic missiles.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Arkansas Online, 25 June 2025
The Qatari military shot down most if not all the missiles, according to a second U.S. official who also was not authorized to speak publicly.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 23 June 2025
And on the three recent occasions that Iran has retaliated to attacks from Israel, the U.S. has helped Israel shoot down incoming missiles and coordinate air defenses.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 19 June 2025
The system, which entered U.S. service in the 1980s, has even been able to shoot down Russian hypersonic missiles.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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Videos of him saying that have been ridiculed by the anti-war right this week – one of them, a prediction that removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq would weaken Iran, was conclusively proven wrong.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
18 June 2025
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But while others might see something to ridicule, Margarita sees something entirely different: a way to belong.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
10 June 2025
Verb
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The decision dismissed most claims in the lawsuit filed by authors who alleged that their books were used, without permission, to train Anthropic’s Claude AI models.—
Tor Constantino,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Social media companies have already gotten several claims dismissed, including a claim of unjust enrichment, Goetz said, because Nazario failed to respond to them.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 June 2025
Verb
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But DeGeneres ultimately refuted the claims that savaged her career.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
23 June 2025
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State-run news agency Xinhua on Friday refuted claims that regions had canceled the subsidies.—
Bernice Ooi,
CNBC,
20 June 2025
Verb
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And of course, that following Sunday, Oliver did indeed mock his corporate bosses for the move.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
8 July 2025
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Many wanted Tiger to comment, but others chose to mock Williams.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
Verb
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One Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested area.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 June 2025
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Gaza’s Health Ministry on Sunday said that another 88 people have been killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, raising the war’s toll among Palestinians to 56,500.—
Tia Goldenberg,
Chicago Tribune,
29 June 2025
Verb
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In addition, Lamont caused concern among union members by vetoing a controversial bill that would have awarded unemployment benefits to striking workers.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
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Just last month, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Dorothy Shea issued a veiled warning to the world body upon vetoing an anti-Israel draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council.—
Beth Bailey , David Hammelburg,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Molina-Neave was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, in 2006 but refused extradition to Denver.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
7 July 2025
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Glover refused, and Pierce told her to turn around as she was being arrested.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Confusion reigned, and so on Friday, the stock went from positive to negative to deeply negative in a matter of hours.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
2 Feb. 2025
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Travelers also need to negative COVID-19 test within one day of flying to return to the United States.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
7 Feb. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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