TAKING DOWN Synonyms: 150 Similar and Opposite Words

taking down

verb

present participle of take down

as in humiliating

to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes there's no need to take us down by making fun of our clothes

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as in knocking down

to take apart electricians will take down all the lights for the set after the play has finished its run

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in recording

to make a written note of took down the customer's contact information

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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 taking down The hardest physical part was actually taking down the old blinds, which had been screwed tightly into the window frame years prior. — Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Rather than taking down individual videos, the company has largely focused on accounts that post AI slop at scale, attempting to trick users and harvest cheap views for ad revenue. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Crews began taking down the remainder of the building Tuesday night, to prevent sections from falling onto power lines, the station said. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2026 Billie’s obsession with taking down Priscilla constantly puts her team in peril, because being so laser-focused on one thing clouds the bigger picture. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 July 2026 Worlds of Fun visitors posted photos on Facebook on June 30 of a construction crew taking down the Cosmic Coaster. — Alexa Newsom, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026 Following his arrest, Vance and his co-conspirators destroyed evidence by deleting phone messages and taking down the two websites, the plea agreement says. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026 The ensuing public backlash led the Senate on Wednesday to unanimously agree with a measure that would block the government from taking down the OOI. — John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026 The board authorized the change to the uniform 80 mph speed limit in a 3-2 vote, directing ITD staff to begin taking down the truck speed limit signs. — Rose Evans updated June 18, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for taking down

Verb

The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.

— Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Instead of demanding personal fealty or humiliating them to assert personal dominance, Lincoln absorbed their egos and occasional slights, elevating their talents and turning his fiercest political adversaries into his most devoted champions.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026

Definition of humiliating

Verb

Charlotte history of knocking down old buildings Digital Realty is far from the first developer to tear down a historic site.

— Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Zhang uses his size and quick first step to attack the basket, while also knocking down three-pointers off the catch or on the move.

— Fred He, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of knocking down

Verb

Northern Illinois drops after not recording a first down at Iowa until late in the third quarter against the Hawkeyes' third-string defense.

— Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Reliever Seth Halvorsen gave up three hits without recording an out in the ninth, but the Dodgers had built up enough of a lead to weather a Washington (67-76) comeback attempt.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of recording

Verb

The release of his diaries though, revealed some thoroughly discrediting and upsetting details about Fauci's private beliefs.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Kiryl Pazniak, 49, who hosted a popular political show on YouTube, has been convicted on the charges of discrediting Belarus and forming an extremist organization, the group said — accusations widely used by authorities to stifle critical voices.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026

Definition of discrediting

Verb

Judd recognized another artist who, like him, was dismantling composition, hierarchy, and the autonomous object.

— Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Disney+, like Netflix, Coupang Play, Wavve, Watcha and Tving, has been steadily dismantling the Korean broadcast standard of a single 16-episode season, and are recruiting film directors for shorter prestige runs.

— Ophélie Surcouf, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of dismantling

Verb

But some have questioned how logging operations may impact the environment with the use of heavy machinery potentially disturbing soil composition, plant growth and animal species.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026
In late 2025, Perplexity’s Comet browser began logging into shoppers’ Amazon accounts and buying on their behalf.

— Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of logging

Verb

The comprehensive regimen is meant to uncover any prior criminal conduct in an applicant’s past as well as embarrassing personal information that could make an employee vulnerable to blackmail.

— Eric Tucker, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Since then, Hochman has been slammed for playing politics, embarrassing his office and even backing down for no reason other than the pressure was too intense.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of embarrassing

Verb

One key indicator of soil health is decomposition rates of complex organic matter, breaking down stuff like leaves, wood, even cadavers into simpler organic and inorganic compounds, releasing C02 and nutrients in the process.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
More consequentially for textile recycling, the researchers demonstrated the process on both PET/cotton and PET/spandex fabrics without similarly breaking down the companion fibers.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026