put-downs

noun

plural of put-down
1
as in insults
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings new hires always have to deal with put-downs and practical jokes from the older employees

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2
as in defamations
the act of making a person or a thing seem little or unimportant your never-ending put-down of my musical talents is really starting to annoy me

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of put-downs Trump, of course, is famous for put-downs whose cruelty is part of their appeal. — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026 The series combines potty-mouthed put-downs with more sentimental story lines. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026 When Marilyn Walker was a little girl, her grandmother introduced her to sarcasm through genteel put-downs that sounded sweet but weren’t. — Angela Haupt, Time, 10 Mar. 2026 Watch a season of the Y2K reality juggernaut and the tone will vacillate wildly between cringe-worthy put-downs via Janice Dickinson, cringier photoshoots, feel-good runway lessons with Miss J, and body positivity monologues from Tyra Banks. — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026 Many of them are amusing enough to get chuckles and the odd big laugh but a little more wit amongst the throwaway put-downs would have been welcome. — Richard Kuipers, Variety, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for put-downs
  1. insults
  2. criticisms
  3. sarcasms
  4. condemnations
  5. disparagements
  6. abuses
Noun
  • There’s blood and insults and exasperation and pain and horror.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The amendment aims to prevent players from hiding insults or other abuse — including discriminatory remarks — behind their hand, arm or jersey.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of insults
Noun
  • The documentary spotlighted some harsh criticisms of the show and of Banks.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Often these kinds of criticisms can be dismissed as a matter of taste, not to mention prejudice.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticisms
Noun
  • First seen at a night-club table of menacing lowlifes, Ida, whose mother tongue is Brooklynese, suddenly switches to a heavy British accent and dispenses a torrent of highly literary sarcasms.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of sarcasms
Noun
  • Whether Tlaib is motivated by animus toward Moskowitz and Wasserman Schultz for their censure votes and condemnations of her rhetoric, or by support for their progressive opponents Larkin and Manley — or a combination — is unknown.
    — Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Missing from the 62-page report — at least in the view of some longtime department observers — was any reflection about officers’ use of less-lethal weapons that left hundreds of people injured and drew strong condemnations from human rights groups.
    — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of condemnations
Noun
  • These disparagements cut to the core of southern manhood.
    — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Definition of disparagements
Noun
  • Transparentem attributed the delays partly to disagreements over who should pay for abuses beyond brands’ first-tier suppliers.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The United States first designated him in 2010 over serious human rights abuses following Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election.
    — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of abuses

Browse Nearby Words

put down
put-downs
put forth
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Cite this Entry

“Put-downs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/put-downs. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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