shoot down
verb
shot down; shooting down; shoots down
transitive verb
1
: to cause to fall by shooting
shot down the helicopter
especially : to kill in this way
was shot down in cold blood
2
: to put an end to : defeat, reject
shoot down legislation
3
: deflate, ridicule
4
: discredit sense 2
shoot down a theory
Synonyms
- deride
- gibe
- jibe
- jeer
- laugh (at)
- mock
- ridicule
- scout
- skewer
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members
Word History
First Known Use
1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1
shooting down
verb
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
- ridiculing
- mocking
- ragging on
- cocking snooks (at)
- poking fun at
- making fun of
- making sport of
- laughing (at)
- cocking a snook (at)
- scouting
- teasing
- taunting
- jeering
- gibing
- deriding
- jibing
- parodying
- skewering
- sneering (at)
- imitating
- tormenting
- putting down
- scoffing (at)
- harassing
- targeting
- travestying
- disparaging
- belittling
- scorning
- kidding
- riding
- baiting
- decrying
- ribbing
- taking off (on)
- razzing
- rallying
- pestering
- tweaking
- quizzing
- poohing
- ragging
- chaffing
- bugging
- twitting
- catcalling
- parroting
- burlesquing
- jiving
- heckling
- caricaturing
- satirizing
- mimicking
- aping
- pillorying
- harrying
- joshing
- lampooning
- hassling
- bad-mouthing
- needling
- pooh-poohing
- barracking
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- approving
- endorsing
- sanctioning
- indorsing
- applauding
- commending
2
as in killing
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
- killing
- dismissing
- vetoing
- downing
- negativing
- refusing
- declining
- blackballing
- disallowing
- nixing
- disapproving
- blacklisting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- confirming
- passing
- allowing
- approving
- assenting (to)
- admitting
- ratifying
- supporting
- electing
- sanctioning
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
- refuting
- overturning
- giving the lie to
- challenging
- disproving
- confuting
- discrediting
- discussing
- debunking
- falsifying
- talking over
- rebutting
- disconfirming
- confounding
- belying
- questioning
- hashing (over)
- contesting
- overthrowing
- doubting
- debating
- mistrusting
- querying
- mooting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- establishing
- proving
- confirming
- backing (up)
- verifying
- showing
- validating
- recording
- supporting
- documenting
- witnessing
- identifying
- corroborating
- evidencing
- displaying
- certifying
- evincing
- illustrating
- attesting
- demonstrating
- manifesting
- substantiating
- buttressing
- authenticating
- adducing