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
During the sentencing hearing, Roth attempted to argue that the gun was never fired and no one was ever harmed, but Cannon shot down each argument.
—
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Geopolitical tensions flare Markets extended their losses and volatility picked up after reports that the United States shot down an Iranian drone that had been approaching a US aircraft carrier.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast, Hawkins said.
—Konstantin Toropin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
At about two this morning, the familiar howl of air-raid sirens woke me in the center of Kyiv, followed by the low thuds of anti-aircraft cannons attempting to shoot down Russian drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Geopolitical tensions flare Markets extended their losses and volatility picked up after reports that the United States shot down an Iranian drone that had been approaching a US aircraft carrier.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast, Hawkins said.
—Konstantin Toropin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
At about two this morning, the familiar howl of air-raid sirens woke me in the center of Kyiv, followed by the low thuds of anti-aircraft cannons attempting to shoot down Russian drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
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The older version of the game, called Test cricket, spreads over five full days of play, and its duration as well as its colonial-era quirks (players wear white while representing their country and take breaks during the day for lunch and tea) have often lent themselves to ridicule.—
Erin Florio,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Feb. 2026
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The move was ridiculed by lawyers outside Paul Weiss, and more than 140 alums of the firm signed a letter assailing it as well.—
Meg Kinnard,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After days of deliberations, the House justice committee voted to dismiss the impeachment complaints filed by left-wing activists and a lawyer against Marcos.—
JIM GOMEZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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Saab denied the allegations and appealed to have the charges dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is a political tactic of the most crude sort, making no effort to refute an argument but to instead impugn the motives of those making it, along with the assumption that people with white skin can always and forever have only suspect motives.—
Bradley Gitz,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Browsh refutes the idea the NFL chose Bad Bunny as a political stunt.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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James Van Der Beek, a heartthrob who starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in Dawson’s Creek and in later years mocking his own hunky persona, has died.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Anthropic used Super Bowl ads to mock OpenAI’s plans to inject advertisements into ChatGPT conversations, sparking debate about chatbots delivering ads.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Democrats demanded new restrictions on federal immigration agents in exchange for voting to fund DHS after Alex Pretti was killed last month in Minneapolis.—
Riley Beggin,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
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Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That bill passed the legislature last year, but Governor Polis vetoed it, demanding that labor and business come up with a compromise.—
Shaun Boyd,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Jones has said in the past that some teams vetoed giving up a home game against the Cowboys because Dallas is a huge road draw.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Protesters stood in front of the main gate and refused to leave.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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If at a certain point the person refuses to cooperate, recruiters resort to blackmail, Andriy said, threatening to hand over the correspondence to the SBU.—
Daria Tarasova-Markina,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In April, Moody’s revised the rating outlook for Thailand to negative from stable, flagging rising political uncertainty and sustained growth weakness.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
1 Sep. 2025
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On the way to scoring a 25-19, 25-9, 25-4 victory, UW was not blocked once, held the Bobcats to negative hitting in each set and in the final set tied a program record for fewest points allowed in a set.—
Mark Stewart,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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