1
as in ridiculing
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 dismissing
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 refuting
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 shooting down
Tisdale French's rep is shooting down the theories percolating online.
—
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
Earlier this year, Goodwin began to feel pain shooting down from her shoulder, most likely a consequence of repetitive computer work.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025
It has also been accused of a series of serious NATO airspace violations by Russian drones and fighter jets, fueling discussions among allies about shooting down the aircraft.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Despite neither triggering a NATO response nor shooting down the drones, Denmark is still mulling a possible response to the sightings.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Despite shooting down any suggestions of infidelity, she’s continued to field the questions and comments, responding politely to the seemingly never-ending queries.
—Sara Belcher, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
Taylor quipped, referencing Kylie shooting down a drunken idea of Jason's.
—Rachel McRady, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shooting down
Verb
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But this heavy tide of content ridiculing any notion of his lasting importance to the American republic suggests a far different fate.—
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By the 1830s, politicians had stopped ridiculing America’s growing canal system.—
Verb
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Confidence can tip into defensiveness, so your challenge has a lot to do with asserting boundaries without emotional withdrawal and honoring your needs without dismissing others.—
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The president spoke little about democracy in Venezuela, dismissing a potential role for its longstanding democratic opposition in running the country in the immediate aftermath of the operation.—
Verb
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The film spends the next hour and 50 minutes refuting that idea.—
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Michaels took to her Instagram days after the release of Fit for TV to post a series of screenshots of text chains, email threads, and other pieces of documentation refuting or otherwise complicating each claim leveled at her.—
Verb
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Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.—
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Now Sweeney, 75, is breaking his silence on a decades-long feud with Chevy Chase after Chase proposed Sweeney appear in an SNL sketch mocking the AIDS epidemic.—
Verb
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The charges relate to his killing Scott Wonoski, 43, a fellow inmate at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, in 2021.—
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Those on the right, determined to make the case that this was an officer killing in self-defense, should instead be beginning with this utter failure to protect the life of a civilian protester and de-escalate the situation through some means other than shooting a fellow American in the head.—
Verb
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Trump did not mention Peters in his rationale for vetoing the legislation.—
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While speaking at The New York Times' DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Berry directly called out Newsom for vetoing the Menopause Care Equity Act — AB 432 — for the second year in a row.—
Verb
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By March, school districts across California are supposed to implement new guidance from the attorney general, including by clearly marking non-public areas and codifying a system for refusing access to immigration officers.—
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On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.—
Cite this Entry
“Shooting down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shooting%20down. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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