1
as in to ridicule
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 to dismiss
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 to refute
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 shoot down
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
As the rookie in the studio, Kay wasn’t completely comfortable shooting down ideas, yet.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2026
Lyles, who only votes in cases of a tie, shot down the motion.
—Charlotte Observer, 28 Apr. 2026
Florida prosecutors quickly shot down the defense attorney's claim in court last Wednesday, according to video published by NBC Miami showing Mauricio Jimenez's initial court appearance following his April 21 arrest.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
CBS News, 29 Apr. 2026
As the rookie in the studio, Kay wasn’t completely comfortable shooting down ideas, yet.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2026
Lyles, who only votes in cases of a tie, shot down the motion.
—Charlotte Observer, 28 Apr. 2026
Florida prosecutors quickly shot down the defense attorney's claim in court last Wednesday, according to video published by NBC Miami showing Mauricio Jimenez's initial court appearance following his April 21 arrest.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
-
He’s ostracized, bullied, ridiculed, beaten.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The subject of this engaging biography is the eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who is often ridiculed as a faulty precursor to Darwin.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That lawsuit, along with a countersuit by the PGA Tour, was dismissed a year later.—
Tim Reynolds,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
-
There’s too much effort, too much time, and too much sincerity apparent behind this film to dismiss it outright.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Trump refuted those accusations in a heated interview with 60 Minutes host Norah O’Donnell on Sunday.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
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Pavlovski refuted a claim made by a witness on Monday that McGee and Jenkins had struggled over the gun that was used to shoot Jenkins.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The two men embraced and spoke after Ross’ performance — a scene Hart mocked by implying Ross was kissing up to the GOAT.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In the sketch, Sherman wore oversized fake teeth and mocked Wood’s Manchester accent in a line about removing fluoride from water and eating monkeys.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Denver police on Thursday arrested a 28-year-old man who investigators said shot and killed another man in a fight near South Broadway and West Maple Avenue, department officials said in a news release.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That same year, Polis vetoed a broader bill that sought to implement new regulations for social media companies that Polis felt would infringe on First Amendment and privacy rights.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Toward the end of his first term as governor in 2002, Kempthorne followed through on a pledge to veto a bill that would end term limits for statewide offices.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But when the symptoms refused to fade, an MRI revealed something far worse.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
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Others rely on patience, research, and the fact that the ground itself refuses to be reduced to one easy headline.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The move is part of Moody’s broader revision of its outlook for private credit investment vehicles to negative.—
Sharon Klyne,
Bloomberg,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Corning stock has been an outlier this year, rallying nearly 60% year to date while the broader market is flat to negative.—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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