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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The Biden administration dismissed the lawsuit, and prosecutors dropped a grand jury investigation the following year.—
NPR,
NPR,
17 Oct. 2025
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The revelation immediately erupted into a political crisis, with the head of prisons dismissed and Guatemalans threatening to protest.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The couple has publicly refuted those claims, affirming the authenticity of their partnership.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
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Michaels took to her Instagram days after the release of Fit for TV to post a series of screenshots of text chains, email threads, and other pieces of documentation refuting or otherwise complicating each claim leveled at her.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One of the challenges for me as biographer was not to trivalize this obsession, not to mock it in any way.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
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Their mother began a relationship with a swaggering alcoholic, their future stepfather, who mocked Scott for being soft.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 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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Meanwhile, China just tightened its grip on rare earth exports, giving Beijing the power to potentially veto European defence production.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Trump invited, and Erdogan vetoed.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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During one heated exchange, immigration agents who did not want to be captured on body camera footage refused to invite FBI agents along for an arrest operation, one of the sources said.—
Josh Campbell,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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According to Film Workers for Palestine, the pledge was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, a group founded by high-profile directors such as Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, which demanded that the film industry refuse to distribute work in South Africa.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
16 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 19 Oct. 2025.
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