SHOOTS DOWN Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

shoots down

verb

present tense third-person singular of shoot down

as in ridicules

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in kills

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in refutes

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 shoots 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 And in the comments of her introductory video, her team shoots down every plausible guess. — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025 The powerful big tech lobby shoots down any law remotely alludes to testing and regulating AI machines. — The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoots down

Verb

Though Claudius ridicules Hamlet for his emotional vulnerability, his grief drives him to avenge his father and emerge as a hero.

— Jeanette Tran, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
Back in their teenage years, Lexi’s older sister Andrea is depicted as a mean girl who ridicules Catherine mercilessly.

— Sam Reed, Glamour, 9 Jan. 2026

Definition of ridicules

Verb

Thicker components typically mean massive internal resistance, which kills electrical current.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
In contrast, spraying visible ants often kills only a small portion of the colony while leaving the nest intact, with millions of workers ready to replace the small population killed by a contact spray.

— The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

Definition of kills

Verb

The Los Angeles Dodgers insulted their Catholic paying customers by honoring a drag group that parades around as nuns and mocks their religion.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
One of the moments in the musical that caused the most laughter and claps from the audience was the final song, which mocks the idea of using violence as a form of protest rather than joining a movement or focusing on policy.

— Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026

Definition of mocks

Verb

Amon, a Brazilian engineer who joined Qualcomm 30 years ago and became its CEO in 2021, dismisses the notion that this is all too much for Qualcomm to chase at once, saying the company has been on this reinvention path many times before.

— Phil Wahba, Fortune, 27 June 2026
De Borbon dismisses the accusations as coming from a small group of disgruntled owners.

— Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026

Definition of dismisses

Verb

Each time the topic comes up, Jones flatly refuses to consider curtains.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
If Paramount refuses, Bonta said the coalition would seek a temporary restraining order asking a judge to hold up the merger, a move that would cause costly delays and escalate legal expenses for Paramount.

— Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026

Definition of refuses

Verb

At midnight the housing bill, hailed as the most substantial legislation on housing in decades, will become law, unless Trump reverses course and signs it sooner or vetoes it.

— Jack Harvel July 10, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026
But the housing affordability bill, dubbed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is nevertheless set to become law automatically on Saturday — unless Trump vetoes it.

— Kevin Breuninger,Justin Papp, CNBC, 10 July 2026

Definition of vetoes

Verb

Springtown takes edge in 7-4A race, downs Decatur Springtown got the inside track on the District 7-4A championship after beating Decatur 4-2 in 8 innings on Monday night at Decatur High School.

— Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Greene downs it, throws the kid his jersey, smiles, and all is right with the world.

— Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026

Definition of downs

Browse Nearby Words

shoots at

shoots down

shoots the breeze

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“Shoots down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoots%20down. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of shoots down

verb

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