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
One policy that would have hiked fees for certain types of visas was shot down in federal court this month.
—
Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
China’s military planners, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports, understand that destroying tankers may be more effective than trying to shoot down stealth fighters.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 14 June 2026
Terrorists could exploit drones, raising the need for ways to capture or shoot down rogue drones or overpower their control signals.
—Agamemnon Crassidis, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
Commissioners narrowly shot down the plan after widespread backlash.
—Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
China’s military planners, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports, understand that destroying tankers may be more effective than trying to shoot down stealth fighters.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 14 June 2026
Terrorists could exploit drones, raising the need for ways to capture or shoot down rogue drones or overpower their control signals.
—Agamemnon Crassidis, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
Commissioners narrowly shot down the plan after widespread backlash.
—Abigail Hasebroock, Sun Sentinel, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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Professional opportunities were nearly nonexistent, and some were ridiculed for playing.—
Latif Love
June 18,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
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It was ridiculed by people outside the club and maybe that has something to do with it.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The judge also dismissed a criminal charge related to possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine, according to Reuters and ABC News.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
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On Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss all charges in the case, citing new video evidence.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Two other retired judges later published their own piece refuting Gilliard’s contention.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
14 June 2026
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Fortunately, video replay allows people to validate—or refute—a referee’s decision.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
13 June 2026
Verb
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One attack ad mocked Ossoff for playful college-era behavior.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
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On the national team’s social media accounts, many commenters mocked them for big defeats.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Los Angeles police Friday released bodycam footage of an officer killing a woman’s pet dog in a case that has sparked outrage and questions.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
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The Israeli strikes killed five people around the town of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to the official news agency NNA, and the army said a soldier was along the victims.—
Caitlin Danaher,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
Verb
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State lawmakers have stepped back from earlier, wider-ranging attempts to regulate AI that were vetoed or otherwise derailed by governors who viewed the measures as too onerous toward the industry’s development, including efforts to hold developers accountable for bias in AI systems.—
Marc Levy,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
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Under Lee’s proposal, the mayor would replace the administrator in overseeing most of the local government’s department heads, while also being able to veto not just legislation but specific line items in city’s two-year budget.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Verb
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While prosecution witnesses have refused to delineate between the Lachman and Palisades blazes, Haney has repeatedly described them as two distinct incidents that ignited days apart.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2026
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After a May debate, Smullen refused to shake his opponent's hand.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
24 June 2026
Verb
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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
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Corning stock has been an outlier this year, rallying nearly 60% year to date while the broader market is flat to negative.—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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