SHOOT DOWN Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

shoot down

verb

Definition of shoot down

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

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

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

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 shoot down Devers’ 403-foot shot down the right field line was his 30th homer of the season and third in seven career at-bats against Elder. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 Sep. 2026 WashingtonReuters — The US military used a laser in southern Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to shoot down three Mexican drug cartel drones this week near the US-Mexico border, US officials said on Thursday. — Reuters, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026 The dearth of Patriot interceptors in Europe would leave few alternatives for shooting down Russia’s more advanced ballistic missiles, which can be combined with swarms of inexpensive drones to overwhelm defenses, experts say. — Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 Prior to Ratcliffe’s trip, additional Russian drones entered NATO airspace, this time over Romania and Poland, and were shot down. — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoot down

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down

Verb

Democrats found plenty to ridicule about Dallas 2026, from the strategic absence of most swing-seat GOP candidates to the empty tier of seats that the president pretended not to see.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Other would-be demonyms, such as Unisian, United Statesian and United Statian, were similarly ridiculed.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of ridicule

Verb

Third, Whyte and others dismiss our conclusion because many of the studies examining AI in medicine are simulations.

— Abe Baker-Butler, STAT, 9 Sep. 2026
If the case is not settled, dismissed or dropped before the trial date, it would be heard during the 2028 presidential primary elections.

— Violet Jira, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of dismiss

Verb

Rehiring Stan Verrett, who had employed much of the same racial rhetoric as Clark, could help Magnus refute that narrative.

— Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Another group of scholars eventually refuted the claims in 2023, contending the ring had no connection to anyone named Pilate.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of refute

Verb

Last year, the Brewers finished five games in front of the Cubs and then eliminated their big-market rival in October, celebrating with an L flag in their team photo, mocking a Wrigley Field tradition.

— Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
After Allied forces invaded Normandy, the cover of this magazine was mocked up in Bayeux-style stitching.

— John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of mock

Verb

In January 2025, an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
This is, quite frankly, baloney — who’s to say the Manhunter didn’t kill and take the form of someone already living in the town?

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of kill

Verb

The report said Evans first refused to give officers his name and then spit into one officer's face after being taken into custody.

— Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026
The prospect of Sean Steur or Lewis Hall — whose contract situation Wilson refused to be drawn on, despite being asked three times — leaving is not something which frightens the hierarchy.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of refuse

Verb

But bad news continued as a leading ratings agency slashed its outlook for BMW to negative from stable, as analysts wondered if the German manufacturing base might be under threat.

— Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
The move is part of Moody’s broader revision of its outlook for private credit investment vehicles to negative.

— Sharon Klyne, Bloomberg, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of negative

Browse Nearby Words

shoot at

shoot down

shooter

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Style

“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shoot down

verb

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