1
as in ridicules
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 kills
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 refutes
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 shoots down
And in the comments of her introductory video, her team shoots down every plausible guess.
—
Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
The powerful big tech lobby shoots down any law remotely alludes to testing and regulating AI machines.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025
Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
The powerful big tech lobby shoots down any law remotely alludes to testing and regulating AI machines.
—The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoots down
Verb
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Though Claudius ridicules Hamlet for his emotional vulnerability, his grief drives him to avenge his father and emerge as a hero.—
Jeanette Tran,
The Conversation,
12 Mar. 2026
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Back in their teenage years, Lexi’s older sister Andrea is depicted as a mean girl who ridicules Catherine mercilessly.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The film centers on a celebrated Filipino chef who secretly kills supernatural creatures and serves them to his unsuspecting clientele — until those creatures return for revenge.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Talented, outrageous, and difficult, Ruby kills both onstage and off.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Browsh refutes the idea the NFL chose Bad Bunny as a political stunt.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
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Data consistently refutes the idea that theaters and streaming are in a zero-sum battle for different audiences.—
Joseph M. Singer,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Johnny lifts a plastic cross, festooned with plastic flowers, from the backseat and mocks it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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Today, reality mocks the dream.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ohm, a cynical skeptic, dismisses their claims.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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Evy is the skeptic who dismisses the noises as either an online hoax or bad plumbing.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There’s no denying that Caurón leans into the sentimental here and elsewhere, yet there’s a strong gust of catharsis that García Treviño transmits as Liborio’s bloodied body refuses to surrender.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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But this team refuses to follow that path.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The bill will become law unless the governor vetoes it.—
Alexandra Glorioso,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
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If Duggan vetoes the ordinance, the council would have a week from the receipt of the veto to override it with a two-thirds majority vote — meaning at least six of the nine council members.—
Dana Afana,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Greene downs it, throws the kid his jersey, smiles, and all is right with the world.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
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But Sarah Graves gives a bit too much room and Penn downs a 3-pointeron the wing.—
Zoe Collins Rath,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoots down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoots%20down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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