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
Speculation soon followed that this effort was in response to the aforementioned test audience confusion, but Cronin shoots down that notion about the last-minute social media campaign.
—
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
The military site was built during the Cold War, before the wildlife refuge existed, to house missiles designed to shoot down high-altitude bombers on their way from Cuba.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
Tragically, Korean Airlines Flight 007 really was shot down over the Sea of Japan.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Hegseth complained that the media hadn’t focused on such aspects of the war as the rescue missions to save two airmen whose plane was shot down in Iran, even though that story was covered extensively.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
The military site was built during the Cold War, before the wildlife refuge existed, to house missiles designed to shoot down high-altitude bombers on their way from Cuba.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
Tragically, Korean Airlines Flight 007 really was shot down over the Sea of Japan.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Hegseth complained that the media hadn’t focused on such aspects of the war as the rescue missions to save two airmen whose plane was shot down in Iran, even though that story was covered extensively.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
-
He’s ostracized, bullied, ridiculed, beaten.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The subject of this engaging biography is the eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who is often ridiculed as a faulty precursor to Darwin.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As part of her agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors will dismiss four felony counts of perjury, procurement or false or forged document to be filed, and two counts of not being entitled to vote in an election.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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Though often dismissed as bubblegum soul, the early Jackson 5 hits were intricate and infectious.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hours after the Royals’ loss on Saturday, Perez refuted Quatraro’s reason for the day off.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
19 Apr. 2026
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But international soccer's governing body has refuted those reports, responding directly to tweets from its media X account.—
Peter Warren,
Houston Chronicle,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The former housekeeper for Jenner further claims that she was mocked for her accent and degraded.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
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The diary writing nurtures an internal life by giving oxygen to what previously had been ephemeral, easily self-mocked as inappropriate, or troubling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Denver police on Thursday arrested a 28-year-old man who investigators said shot and killed another man in a fight near South Broadway and West Maple Avenue, department officials said in a news release.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That same year, Polis vetoed a broader bill that sought to implement new regulations for social media companies that Polis felt would infringe on First Amendment and privacy rights.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
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Toward the end of his first term as governor in 2002, Kempthorne followed through on a pledge to veto a bill that would end term limits for statewide offices.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Football has traditionally been a conduit for protests in Iran, with the national team refusing to sing the anthem on several occasions over recent decades, including during the 2009 Green Movement and after the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police in 2022.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2026
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However, the Portage Township Schools have refused to recognize autism as an educational eligibility category and have denied the boy autism-specific services, sensory accommodations and the proper behavioral interventions, the suit says.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 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 27 Apr. 2026.
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