SHOOTING DOWN Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

shooting down

verb

present participle of shoot down

as in ridiculing

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

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dismissing

to reject by or as if by a vote every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members

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as in refuting

to prove to be false the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shooting down Boyington was a flying ace credited with shooting down 28 Japanese aircraft during the war. —

Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2026 So far lawmakers haven’t, slowing, softening and then shooting down a bipartisan measure that would have enlisted the state Department of Agriculture to take on the burgeoning pest. —

Mark Dee march 31, Idaho Statesman, 31 Mar. 2026 For now, the Gulf states are focused on defense and shooting down the hundreds of drones and missiles being fired at them. —

CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026 Rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft and destroying armored vehicles were seized at the scene. —

Maria Verza, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026 The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso, Texas, stemmed from the Pentagon’s plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details. —

Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026 What all this boils down to is that even a laser weapon that's already shooting down hostile drones is streets away from one that's officially part of the armory. —

New Atlas, 17 Jan. 2026 Tisdale French's rep is shooting down the theories percolating online. —

Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026 Earlier this year, Goodwin began to feel pain shooting down from her shoulder, most likely a consequence of repetitive computer work. —

Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shooting down

Verb

The political rhetoric aimed at ridiculing Canada bothers Johnson.

— Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026
Other potential candidates, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gavin Newsom, have achieved fame by berating and ridiculing the other side.

— Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026