SHOOT DOWN Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

shoot down

verb

Definition of shoot down

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

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

as in to refute

to prove to be false the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shoot down Some speakers admonished the county commission for shooting down the moratorium proposal. — Gabriel Brito, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 26 Aug. 2026 Don't shoot down other people's ideas without bringing your own. — Bryan West, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026 There will soon be a lot of these spread around and shot down by Take-Two as has happened with every GTA 6 leak so far. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 City officials at the time shot down the bid even though it was rated highly by the city administration, and VK LLC sued. — Joshua Ceballos, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoot down

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down

Verb

Paris’ Eiffel Tower, for instance, was ridiculed for decades before becoming arguably one of the most iconic and well-loved pieces of architecture in the world.

— Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
Digital advertising has long been the cash cow for other big tech companies like Google and Meta, but OpenAI's move was ridiculed by its chief rival, Anthropic, which made OpenAI's ad push the focus of its first Super Bowl campaign.

— Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of ridicule

Verb

But Smith dismissed the idea that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was trying to boost his chances in upcoming domestic elections.

— Samantha Subin,CJ Haddad,Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
Also Tuesday, just after court was dismissed, Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton, Massachusetts, was arrested outside the courthouse in Plymouth, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police confirmed.

— Blayne Alexander, NBC news, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of dismiss

Verb

The viral video of Gibson appearing to mock the Fan Expo ASL interpreter sparked backlash against the actor as well as FanExpo for platforming the controversial star.

— Zack Sharf, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
Mel Gibson apologized Monday after video surfaced showing the actor mocking a sign language interpreter.

— Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of mock

Verb

The portable machine uses pulses of full-spectrum ultraviolet light to kill infectious germs inside hospital rooms.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Clancy is a Massachusetts woman who has been on trial for killing her three children and attempting to take her own life in 2023.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of kill

Verb

The filing accused Thomas of having refused to allow nannies into his house with his daughter, including one assigned by the court, and of using drugs.

— Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Aug. 2026
When the district refused to scrap those policies, the agency rescinded the unrelated federal grants.

— Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of refuse

Verb

But bad news continued as a leading ratings agency slashed its outlook for BMW to negative from stable, as analysts wondered if the German manufacturing base might be under threat.

— Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
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

Definition of negative

Browse Nearby Words

shoot at

shoot down

shooter

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“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of shoot down

verb

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