1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in refutes
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 shoots down
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
The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoots down
Verb
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Wednesday ridicules Pugsley for making a zombie.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The front row already included senior outside hitter Tenley Davis, a Loyola commit with a team-high 180 kills this season, and junior outside hitter Luca Bombacino, a Michigan commit with 170 kills.—
Dave Melton,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Novartis’s radioligand therapy targets mutations in tumors, delivering radiation only where it is needed, unlike ordinary radiotherapy which kills non-cancerous cells as well as cancerous ones.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Yet Superman's entire story refutes this zero-sum thinking.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This is why Dijon’s language works best as sound, not narrative—his rangy, raspy voice seethes and triumphs, mocks and threatens; there’s no world in which his polygonal perspective can be discerned from a lyric sheet.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 Aug. 2025
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After being told that Dawn is dead, Gaal mocks Demerzel for pretending to grieve, which angers the robot.—
Rafael Motamayor,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Ashton also dismisses the concerns that a three-year degree lacks the many electives and opportunities for self-discovery.—
Bryan Penprase,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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Trump's approach dismisses collective security and weakens NATO's cohesion.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As a guy who is simply not built for summer (sweaty, burns easily, refuses to wear shorts), the turning of the calendar to September adds a little lead to my tread, with visions of cider and sweaters dancing in my head.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
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And even though the military is short of manpower, the government refuses to draft ultra-orthodox men, whose religious political parties are key to the Netanyahu coalition.—
Ron Scherf,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In between questions about Nineties cultural touchstones like Friends, Space Jam, Beavis and Butthead, the Spice Girls, and Sir-Mix-A-Lot — during which Kravitz racks up a lot of points and Butler downs a lot of shots — the pair also discusses working on Caught Stealing.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoots down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoots%20down. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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