talk down
verb
talked down; talking down; talks down
: to speak in a condescending or oversimplified fashion
: to disparage or belittle by talking
Examples of talk down in a Sentence
a company that prefers to talk up its own products rather than talk down those of its competitors
Recent Examples on the Web
The movie goes from this weird, seedy love motel to the industrial backwaters, and these long walks and talks down empty streets.
—
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
The contractors talked down to me.
—Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Others described feeling they were being talked down to.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Baldwin also said district custodians are understaffed, supplied with broken or old equipment, have been denied language interpreters during meetings and are in general talked down to by administrative staff.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for talk down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
The contractors talked down to me.
—Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Others described feeling they were being talked down to.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026
Baldwin also said district custodians are understaffed, supplied with broken or old equipment, have been denied language interpreters during meetings and are in general talked down to by administrative staff.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for talk down
Cite this Entry
“Talk down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talk%20down. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
