shooting down

verb

present participle of shoot down
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

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 shooting down The dearth of Patriot interceptors in Europe would leave few alternatives for shooting down Russia’s more advanced ballistic missiles, which can be combined with swarms of inexpensive drones to overwhelm defenses, experts say. — Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 Some speakers admonished the county commission for shooting down the moratorium proposal. — Gabriel Brito, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 26 Aug. 2026 Earlier this week, Russian authorities reported shooting down 791 Ukrainian drones in a single night, one of the largest attacks of the war; more than 600 of them were flying toward the Moscow region, according to the city’s mayor. — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026 Its board of trustees voted to add his name back to the building’s facade, despite a judge shooting down a prior attempt. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, Ukraine has already augmented its air defenses around Odesa and other ports, with videos showing aircraft, including an F-16 and a Yak-52, shooting down Geran-4s. — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Whatever the mission type, the winning team is determined by total score, which includes both fulfilling the mission objective and shooting down enemies. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026 In total, Russia launched 88 long-range attack drones and one ballistic missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defenses shooting down or jamming 79 of the drones. — ABC News, 22 June 2026 Jordan reported shooting down a drone on Wednesday. — Reuters, NBC news, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shooting down
  1. ridiculing
  2. dismissing
  3. refuting
  4. mocking
  5. killing
  6. vetoing
  7. refusing
Verb
  • The blogger has been on a years-long apology tour after relentlessly ridiculing celebrities in the 2000s.
    — Ethan Beck, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Trump hailed Bray’s announcement in a Truth Social post ridiculing the Indiana Senate leader.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026
Definition of ridiculing
Verb
  • William Roberson Anyone dismissing the Slingshot (in any form) on practicality grounds is missing the point by a light year or two - the Slingshot makes a Miata seem like a spacious minivan.
    — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • She was especially hurt that some of the people who criticized Cox most harshly, dismissing him as craven and disingenuous, were those who had the closest relationships with him.
    — McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of dismissing
Verb
  • So thankful to Alabama Athletics for refuting it on my behalf.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center and the artist Olalekan Jeyifous are refuting accusations by some museum visitors that his work was made using generative AI, reports MPR News.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of refuting
Verb
  • Former Ferrari president and chairman Luca di Montezemolo joined analysts and investors in mocking the model as ugly and decidedly un-Ferrari-like at a time where other luxury automakers were scaling back their own EV efforts amid low demand.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Thousands of comments flooded the post mocking the department for spending its time on such a trivial matter.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of mocking
Verb
  • The case has become a national cultural fixation and a social media spectacle, gripping and dividing spectators well beyond the Massachusetts courtroom where the 36-year-old mother is charged with killing her three young children.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
  • On the last day of February, the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and attacking targets across the country.
    — Mick Krever, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of killing
Verb
  • But even if the bill passes both chambers, the White House earlier said that the President’s advisers would recommend vetoing it.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 27 July 2026
  • But vetoing the bill could have been politically damaging for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, with the rising cost of living and housing on the top of voters' minds.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of vetoing
Verb
  • Now a new report on the fallout from the investigation into that flyover is rattling the Defense Department and could lead to further delay in replacing the Army leader ousted for refusing to kill the probe.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • After slowly changing the theatrical underworld as the king of midnight movies, Curry spent the rest of his acting career gleefully refusing to be pinned down.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of refusing

Browse Nearby Words

shooting at
shooting down
shootings
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Cite this Entry

“Shooting down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shooting%20down. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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