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
Ukraine's air force said in a post to Telegram on Wednesday morning that Russia launched one missile and 126 drones into the country overnight, of which 100 drones were shot down or suppressed.
—
David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Robert Goodman from a Syrian prison after his plane was shot down in the Middle East.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Eden’s production company, Donna and Shula Productions, quickly shot down rumors that her death was caused by Iran in some way.
—Joseph Wilkinson, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
And there are systems that use bullets to shoot down drones.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Robert Goodman from a Syrian prison after his plane was shot down in the Middle East.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Eden’s production company, Donna and Shula Productions, quickly shot down rumors that her death was caused by Iran in some way.
—Joseph Wilkinson, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
And there are systems that use bullets to shoot down drones.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was ridiculed by the British media, criticized for defending his friendship with Epstein and accused of failing to convey empathy for Epstein's victims.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Comedian and talk show host Jimmy Failla ridiculed Ocasio-Cortez about the Venezuela error, while also making fun of her claims about being from the Bronx.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Marty Singer, attorney for the spouses at the time, dismissed the controversy.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Yesterday, Judge Aran Subramanian dismissed some portions of the suit but allowed other claims to proceed in the DOJ’s efforts to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But the company is refuting the claims.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
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But Kennedy was equally as defiant and doubled down on his stance, strongly refuting the allegations directed towards him.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At one point, ref Michael Oliver takes pleasure in mocking a poor first touch from Conor Gallagher, which the Tottenham midfielder takes in good humour.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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That one of the bartenders in New Orleans reportedly mocked him by referencing Holes to THRfeels like something right out of that movie.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Six of the close friends and three guides are among the nine people killed or presumed dead in the avalanche near California’s Lake Tahoe - the nation’s deadliest in 45 years.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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So far, at least 40,000 people have been killed and 12 million displaced, according to the World Health Organization.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If Kelly vetoed the legislation, a veto override would take the support of two-thirds of lawmakers in each chamber — a threshold the Senate fell well short of on Wednesday.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Feb. 2026
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But Johnson recalled how in 2024 Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed undocumented people to work at public universities, rankling activists.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Like Social Security and Medicare reform and the massive national debt, which is at $38 trillion and counting because Washington refuses to cut spending, despite record amounts of revenue flooding into the Treasury.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
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She is known for her perfectly coiffed buns; my baby hairs, on the other hand, refuse to fall in line.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2026
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 22 Feb. 2026.
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