as in sitting on
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
public protests against the dictatorial government were always promptly slapped down
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slapping down
Verb
-
Rather than quelling terrorist attacks, permanently suppressing Palestinian aspirations would likely fuel an endless insurgency.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
16 Sep. 2025 -
Giddey also took a significant step toward quelling concerns about him as a shooter.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
As Madison anticipated, the First Amendment wasn’t a cure for a government bent on suppressing dissent.—
Donald Nieman,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
-
By suppressing appetite, the drug can help induce weight loss.—
Surina Venkat,
The Hill,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Giants won in all kinds of encouraging ways while subduing the wild-card-leading Cubs in a 5-2 victory Tuesday night.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
-
The two also showed a demonstration of what a K9 takedown looks like, with Humphries acting as a target and K9 Bob subduing him.—
Richard Requena,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Critics, though, have argued that these efforts are serving to distract from the country’s record of repressing free speech and dissent, as well as human rights violations, which have been widely reported.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Daniel Morejón García, a former Ministry of Interior agent accused of repressing July 11 protesters in 2021 was deported to Cuba in July.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Students at a school district in Kentucky are putting down their phones and cracking books at a record pace now that devices are banned during class, district officials said.—
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
-
There’s hard, mundane work outside of putting down the bottle and putting down the pipe.—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
19 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Slapping down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slapping%20down. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share