SHOT DOWN Synonyms: 137 Similar and Opposite Words

shot down

verb

past tense of shoot down

as in ridiculed

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 dismissed

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 refuted

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 shot down In 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. —

Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026 However, so far GOP lawmakers have shot down every Democratic effort to stop the war. —

Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026 Six months ago, an industrial developer had its rezoning request for a mall-sized warehouse campus shot down by the city of South Fulton after fierce community resistance. —

Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 29 Apr. 2026 Crow-Armstrong's homer was a two-run shot down the right-field line in the fourth to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. —

CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026 United may have taken the bigger hit after American shot down the notion of merger with its rival, which was reportedly floated by United's CEO last week at the White House. —

ABC News, 19 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shot down

Verb

On Thursday, though, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – who is leading negotiations for Tehran and has emerged as the key voice of the Iranian government – ridiculed the notion of blockading Iran, pointing to the country’s extensive land and maritime borders.

— Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 1 May 2026
DeSantis has ridiculed Jeffries’ threat, including on Thursday.

— Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 1 May 2026