shoots down

verb

present tense third-person singular of shoot down
1
as in ridicules
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 kills
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 refutes
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 shoots down And in the comments of her introductory video, her team shoots down every plausible guess. — Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025 The powerful big tech lobby shoots down any law remotely alludes to testing and regulating AI machines. — The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2025 Speculation soon followed that this effort was in response to the aforementioned test audience confusion, but Cronin shoots down that notion about the last-minute social media campaign. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoots down
  1. ridicules
  2. kills
  3. refutes
  4. mocks
  5. dismisses
  6. refuses
  7. vetoes
  8. downs
Verb
  • Though Claudius ridicules Hamlet for his emotional vulnerability, his grief drives him to avenge his father and emerge as a hero.
    — Jeanette Tran, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Back in their teenage years, Lexi’s older sister Andrea is depicted as a mean girl who ridicules Catherine mercilessly.
    — Sam Reed, Glamour, 9 Jan. 2026
Definition of ridicules
Verb
  • Frequently asked questions What kills Japanese beetles instantly?
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • In the end, Sophia kills Elgin and steals most of the talismans that protect the Fromville citizens from the night walkers.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of kills
Verb
  • There is extensive evidence — including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony — that unequivocally refutes her claims.
    — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
  • The woman vehemently refutes those claims to ABC News, and claims Aaron knew about her personal history, including marital status.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of refutes
Verb
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers insulted their Catholic paying customers by honoring a drag group that parades around as nuns and mocks their religion.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • One of the moments in the musical that caused the most laughter and claps from the audience was the final song, which mocks the idea of using violence as a form of protest rather than joining a movement or focusing on policy.
    — Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026
Definition of mocks
Verb
  • Amon, a Brazilian engineer who joined Qualcomm 30 years ago and became its CEO in 2021, dismisses the notion that this is all too much for Qualcomm to chase at once, saying the company has been on this reinvention path many times before.
    — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 27 June 2026
  • De Borbon dismisses the accusations as coming from a small group of disgruntled owners.
    — Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026
Definition of dismisses
Verb
  • Like many of the people camped outside their families’ homes in Venezuela, Mendoza refuses to believe they are gone until the last moment possible.
    — Isa Soares, CNN Money, 1 July 2026
  • The result is heat that builds, amplifies and refuses to break, often setting records on the way.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 June 2026
Definition of refuses
Verb
  • The housing bill, formally called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, can still become law if Trump neither signs it nor vetoes it in 10 days, excluding Sundays.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 30 June 2026
  • The bill will become law unless the governor vetoes it.
    — Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
Definition of vetoes
Verb
  • Springtown takes edge in 7-4A race, downs Decatur Springtown got the inside track on the District 7-4A championship after beating Decatur 4-2 in 8 innings on Monday night at Decatur High School.
    — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Greene downs it, throws the kid his jersey, smiles, and all is right with the world.
    — Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of downs

Browse Nearby Words

shoots at
shoots down
shoots the breeze
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shoots down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoots%20down. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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