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
Katie Stewart provided all of the squad’s offense with a lone clutch swing, her three-run shot down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth.
—
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Altogether, Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian Air Force figures, which said the vast bulk of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Air force units shot down or neutralised 40 missiles and 602 drones, but the air force did not list the Zircons among those that were intercepted.
—Valentyn Ogirenko, USA Today, 2 June 2026
The original Star Fox 64's Versus Mode featured up to four players as different members of Team Star Fox, competing by either shooting down each other or shooting down the most enemies.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Altogether, Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian Air Force figures, which said the vast bulk of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Air force units shot down or neutralised 40 missiles and 602 drones, but the air force did not list the Zircons among those that were intercepted.
—Valentyn Ogirenko, USA Today, 2 June 2026
The original Star Fox 64's Versus Mode featured up to four players as different members of Team Star Fox, competing by either shooting down each other or shooting down the most enemies.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
-
Critics were quick to ridicule the new hire.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
29 May 2026
-
When Pete Buttigieg floated a 15-member Supreme Court during his 2020 presidential campaign, for example, he was properly ridiculed by institutionalists.—
Washington Post Editorial Board,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.—
Jacques Billeaud,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Bohm’s parents have refuted those claims and the two sides are still attempting to determine where the court battle will proceed.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
This argument, too, has been there since the outset, when there was no data yet to refute it.—
Diana Gitig,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2026
Verb
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In the ongoing fight for women’s equal rights, Pawol had proved a female baseball umpire can be second-guessed, proved wrong and humiliated by technology and mocked by howling fans on social media just like a man can.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
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That staffer was later fired by Collins after posting a social media comment on behalf of the Collins campaign mocking a woman who attempted suicide after accusing Matt Lauer of rape.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Verb
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In recent months security forces have killed a string of top Maoists and the rank-and-file are laying down their weapons.—
Dhruv Tikekar,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
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At the same time that the GKN situation was unraveling, the rupture of a chemical tank containing a different chemical mixture killed 11 people at a paper mill in Washington state.—
Jason Henry,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Last spring, the mayor vetoed the budget adopted by the council, and an override ended up being necessary.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
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Lastly, on Thursday Polis vetoed House Bill 1286, which would have required that human drivers ride in autonomous commercial vehicles.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The nurses refused to increase her morphine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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The fund sparked widespread condemnation and a standoff between the White House and Congress, with Senate Republicans refusing to pass an immigration enforcement spending bill unless the fund was limited or scrapped.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
2 June 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 7 Jun. 2026.
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