talk down

verb

talked down; talking down; talks down
Synonyms of talk downnext

intransitive verb

: to speak in a condescending or oversimplified fashion

transitive verb

: to disparage or belittle by talking

Synonyms of talk down

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of talk down in a Sentence

a company that prefers to talk up its own products rather than talk down those of its competitors
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Leadership training disputes The lawsuit alleges Petersen began subjecting Kennon to discriminatory treatment around January 2024, including talking down to her, ignoring her and questioning her judgment. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2026 Any emphasis in his Jackson Hole address on his commitment to 2% inflation could help in talking down long bond yields. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026 There is a sense that it is patronised and talked down to a lot of the time. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 Not talking down to them, and tackling real subject matter that’s universal, about family and relationships and nature versus nurture and grief. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for talk down

Word History

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of talk down was in 1642

Rhymes for talk down

See All Rhymes for talk down

Browse Nearby Words

talk back
talk down
talk down to
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Talk down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talk%20down. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

talk down

verb
: to speak in an overly simple manner as if to a person who does not know much
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All