shoot down

1 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 of shoot down deride, gibe (or jibe), jeer, laugh (at), mock, scout, ridicule, skewerWords Related to shoot down scoff (at), scorn, sneer (at); bad-mouth, belittle, decry, disparage, pooh-pooh (also pooh), put down; chaff, jive, josh, kid, quiz, rally, razz, rib, ride, tease, tweak, twit; bait, barrack [chiefly British], bug, catcall, harass, harry, hassle, heckle, needle, pester, rag, target, taunt, torment; ape, burlesque, caricature, imitate, lampoon, mimic, parody, parrot, pillory, satirize, take off (on), travestyNear Antonyms of shoot down applaud, approve, commend, endorse (also indorse), sanction

2 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 of shoot down blackball, down, kill, nix, negative, vetoWords Related to shoot down decline, disallow, disapprove, dismiss, refuse; blacklistNear Antonyms of shoot down admit, allow, approve, assent (to), pass, sanction; elect, supportAntonyms of shoot down confirm, ratify

3 to prove to be false the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks Synonyms of shoot down belie, confound, confute, debunk, disconfirm, discredit, falsify, rebut, refute, disproveWords Related to shoot down overthrow, overturn; challenge, contest, query, question; doubt, mistrust; debate, discuss, hash (over), moot, talk overNear Antonyms of shoot down document, evidence, evince, record, show, support, witness; back (up), buttress, corroborate, substantiate; adduce, attest, authenticate, certify, identify; demonstrate, display, illustrate, manifestAntonyms of shoot down confirm, establish, prove, validate, verify