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
Air defenses shot down or jammed 693 Russian targets overnight, including 41 missiles and 652 drones of various types, across the country, Ukraine’s air force said .
—
ABC News, 13 May 2026
On the morning of May 7, the mayor of Moscow announced that the Russian air force had shot down hundreds of Ukrainian drones aimed at the city.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Whose idea gets shot down at 2pm and credited to someone senior at 4pm?
—Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
But one of the most outlandish theories about the youngest Trump has now been shot down by someone who would know.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
ABC News, 13 May 2026
On the morning of May 7, the mayor of Moscow announced that the Russian air force had shot down hundreds of Ukrainian drones aimed at the city.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Whose idea gets shot down at 2pm and credited to someone senior at 4pm?
—Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
But one of the most outlandish theories about the youngest Trump has now been shot down by someone who would know.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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And while that move was ridiculed across baseball at the time, another decision Turner made — far more consequential but no less revolutionary — put his franchise on a trajectory to become one of the most popular in the sport.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
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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
Verb
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The court recommended that the petition be dismissed, and that the organizations be given one month to submit the employee lists.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
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Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Cuban officials have angrily refuted the pressure campaign and promised to resist any military intervention with force.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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Cento refuted the claims made in the complaint and will seek dismissal of the lawsuit in court, a company spokesperson told The Times on Monday.—
Itzel Luna,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
Verb
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This is also not the first time the president has mocked the Illinois governor's weight.—
Hannah Hudnall,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
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The two Republicans are heard on the video mocking Wu's accent during the introduction of that bill.—
Ashley Paul,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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In a final battle, the Darksaber is destroyed, Gideon and his clones are seemingly killed, and the newly united Mandalorians settle back on Mandalore.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
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Initial tests suggested the outbreak may not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which was responsible for Congo’s devastating 2018-2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Past attempts to address pregnancy leave had been vetoed by governors Jerry Brown and Newsom.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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By acting now, Georgia Republicans could guard against the possibility that a Democrat could win the governor’s race in November and veto new voting districts if the legislature had waited to act until its regular session next year.—
Jack Brook,
Twin Cities,
13 May 2026
Verb
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That’s still intense emotional and intellectual material for a mainstream TV series, but the Muschiettis, much like King, refuse to frame their work as an abstract allegory.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
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DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng—a hedge fund billionaire who controls nearly the entire company—has spent years refusing outside money.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
19 May 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
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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 20 May. 2026.
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